A Girl, Her Power and a Twenty Year Old Battle
by Riri.Riii
Summary: <html><head></head>A year has passed since Will and the others entered Sky High and now they are meeting the new freshmen, but when they see a girl with Principal Powers they begin to realize that this girl might be more trouble then they asked for. Rated Teen just in case</html>
1. New Faces

(A/N: Sky High fanfic? I think so! Mostly because I've been in love with it since back when it first came out in Theaters. Ah fun times. So there's some references to LalyaXWill, ZachXMagenta, WarrenXFreeze Girl and because Warren is awesome (and I really need to stop using OC's) WarrenXOC though romance is only a small portion of the tale. So chapter one enjoy. PS Reviews Welcome =D )

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter One: New Faces

10 years ago:

"I will never let you have this power! No matter what you do to me, I will never hand it over to you!" The woman exclaimed; vowing to herself and whoever else was listening.

"We'll see about that…or perhaps I don't have to. When your daughter's power manifests, I will take that power for myself." The figure cloaked in shadow laughed.

Her eyes widened, "Over my dead body!"

"Oh well that's just an open invitation." The shadow flicked a switch and electricity shot through her body.

"Comets Away!" The bright light of a thousand comets blasted through the room and crashed into the shadow sending it flying across the room. The comet changed back into a woman, who ran over to the still form of her sister. "Hope, come on, say something."

"Lynda," Hope's voice was weak, "I knew you'd come for me."

"Hold on we'll get you out of here." Lynda could feel sister's life slip away.

Hope shook her head, "There's no point you feel it just as I do. I need you to promise me something…"

"Anything…just don't leave me."

"Protect Serenity." Hope took a shuddered breath and then let it out as her final breath.

Lynda nodded, "I will." She laid her sister on the ground and looked around for the monster that did this to her Hope, but he was gone.

The present:

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe we've been here a whole year!" Layla Williams gushed to Warren Peace.

"Correction you've been here a whole year. I've been here for three." Warren rolled his eyes.

"Oh look there's Will, come on!" She took his hand and ran towards William Stronghold, the school's hero after what happened at homecoming the previous year and her boyfriend. "Will!"

"Layla!" Will looked at her then raised an eyebrow at her and Warren's linked hands which caused Warren to quickly pull away. "How can you be so perky first thing in the morning?" He stifled a yawn.

"Will! Layla! Warren!" Zach called while on his way over, with his arm around his girlfriend Magenta, with Ethan following close behind them.

"Hey guys!" Will called.

"Wow it's been an entire summer since the last time all six of us were together." Layla exclaimed. "How have you been?"

"Good." Magenta shrugged.

"So are you wrangling in the new freshmen, Will?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, Principle Powers asked me to, you know to make sure that the same thing as last year doesn't happen." Will shrugged.

"Well with Gwen gone, I doubt anything too bad should happen." Ethan told him.

"I wasn't thinking about Gwen, remember the first day when Lash and Speed took meeting the freshmen into their own hands, you almost ended up handing over 15 dollars to them." Will's eyebrow rose.

"Oh right…" Ethan turned his head slightly, to look at the teacher's parking lot. "Hey isn't that Principal Powers now?"

"Yeah…but who is that?" Magenta asked. They watched as a second person got out of Principal Powers' car.

"Her hair's whiter than Zach's. I didn't think that was possible." Layla said. "Comet white…"

"Hey! My hair isn't that white!" Zach looked at Magenta, who simply nodded.

"I didn't know Principal Powers had a daughter." Will looked at the girl with the comet white hair.

_"__Warren! Let__'__s play!__"_A girl's voice called to Warren. That's when he vaguely remembered long white hair pulled back into pigtails.

"Warren are you alright?" Will asked worried about the pained expression on his face.

"Yeah I'm fine." Warren shook his head to clear it. "I'm going to get class, I'll see you later." He turned and began walking to the school.

"Alright. We'll see you later." Will told him but that nagging feeling in his gut still hadn't gone away.

* * *

><p>Lynda got out of her hover car and watched as her passenger did the same. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"<p>

"I'll be fine Auntie." Her niece told her.

"Serenity, I'm not going to make you go through with power placement if you don't want to." Lynda looked at her.

"What could happen? I know I'm going to be fine, just so long as this headache finally goes away." Serenity rubbed her temples.

"We could wait another year!" Lynda suggested.

"And wait till I'm fifteen, I'll be the only freshmen who's older than fourteen, not to mention a sidekick." She rolled her eyes then smiled kindly, "Don't worry Auntie; nothing's going to happen here. Sky High's safe from villains, right?"

"If you're sure…" Lynda frowned and the look in Serenity's eyes was unmoving. "Alright, I'll see you in the gym in a bit." She locked her car then raised her arms. "Comets away."

Serenity averted her eyes, "Is it just me or has that comet she turns into gotten brighter?" She looked over at the group of young teenagers getting off one of the buses and saw them gather around one boy. "Oh shoot! Being late for orientation is not my smartest move." She ran over to the group and suddenly the buzzing in her head got louder. She rubbed her temples again, hoping to ease the throbbing there.

"Now if you remember those few rules you won't fall off." The boy at the front of the group stated. He looked at the group and noticed that Serenity had her fingers pressed to her temples. He walked over to her, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just a headache that's all." She felt his powers more strongly inside her head now that he was closer to her, 'He's capable of flight and has super strength. Auntie told me that the Stronghold kid had both of his parents' powers; this can't be him can it?'

"Alright, tell me if it gets worse. I'm Will. Will Stronghold." He smiled.

"Serenity Powers." She smiled back and removed her hands from her forehead, though the buzzing still hadn't stopped. She rolled her eyes as the rest of the teenagers around them gasped; probably shocked to meet the son of the Commander and Jetstream.

'So she is the daughter of the Principal Powers.' Will thought. "Alright then follow me and I'll lead you to the gym for orientation."

'Perhaps my showing up with Auntie this morning instead of taking the bus wasn't my best idea.' Serenity's brow furrowed which didn't help the buzzing at all. She muttered quietly to herself, "Well today's going to be the start of the next four years of my life, let's just hope that buzzing stops within the next few days."

They went to orientation and as usual once Lynda Powers finished she flew out as a comet just to show that she could. That's when Coach Boomer appeared in the middle of the floor on a rising platform. Serenity rolled her eyes, 'Could this get anymore clichéd?'

"Alright listen up, my name is Coach Boomer, you may know me as Sonic Boom…you may not. Here's how power placement is gonna work: you will step up here and show me your power. And yes you will do so in front of the entire class. I will then determine where you will be assigned; hero or sidekick. Now every year there are a few students, or as I like to call them whiner babies, who see fit to question and to complain about their placement, so let's get one thing straight my word is law, my judgment is final. So there will be no whiner babies. Are we clear?"

"Yes Coach Boomer!" Serenity called, she remembered something from reading her mother's diary about Sonic Boom. He had the ability to use sound waves and blast his opponents backwards, in this case it was them he'd be using it against which wasn't going to help her headache any.

Coach Boomer removed his sunglasses and looked directly at her. "You what's your name?"

"Serenity, sir." She looked him in the eyes, trying to show that she wasn't terrified. 'Oh great, did I just draw the attention of the one teacher I didn't want to notice me?'

"Get up here," She did as she was told, "What's your power?"

She let out a quiet sigh, "It's probably best if I just show you." She put her hand out.

"I want to know what you're power is kid, not hold your hand." Coach Boomer raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I'm not particularly fond of holding my gym teacher's hand, but unfortunately there are far too many people in this room for me to just choose a power and show you my own power, I need to use physical touch to differentiate between powers." She rolled her eyes as if it was blatantly obvious.

He remembered something back from his very own days at Sky High. _"__Tommy take my hand, I__'__ll help you whenever you need it.__"_A particular sidekick had offered to help him when he lost the will to use his powers, to use his voice. He looked at her shocked then whispered, "Hope…"

She raised an eyebrow, she knew her mother was popular amongst the heroes but she never knew that he knew her particularly well. "Sorry what?" She acted confused, pretending not to understand him.

He shook his head, "Sorry it's nothing." He took her hand, "Now your power." 'If her power's anything like her mother's then…'

"Use your power, to the lowest decibel you possibly can."

They heard whispering from the other freshmen, "What's going on?" and then "Do they know each other?" then finally, "Well there's no way she's not going to be a hero, that's cheating."

She rolled her eyes and Coach Boomer turned to the other students, "That is ENOUGH!" His power shattered the gyms windows, created a hole in the gym floor and was heard throughout the school loud enough that most of the windows shattered. He looked over at her as she pulled her hand away. He hadn't used that sort of power since his hero days.

"Perhaps that could have gone better, but at least the buzzing in my heads gone…although the ringing in my ears is kind of harsh." Serenity shook her head, trying to get the ringing to stop. She looked at him with her head held high and her eyes unwavering. "Now then Coach Boomer, if you knew my mother as I assume you did…and now that you know we have the same power. I do believe you understand where to put me."

He pulled out his clip board, "Serenity Powers, sidekick."

She nodded and the ringing in her ears finally stopped but the buzzing came back. "Now I'm going to be sitting over there." She went over to the bleachers and brushed off some glass then sat down.

* * *

><p>By the time the freshmen made it to the cafeteria, there wasn't an empty table in sight. They heard an announcement about sidekicks ordering hero sandwiches. All that did was make Serenity sigh then shake her head. With a quick turn on her heel, she headed to the office. Once inside the office, it wasn't hard to find her Aunt's specific office. The secretary looked at her as she stood outside the door, "She's in a meeting."<p>

"That's fine I'll just wait." She turned to go sit down in a chair when she heard Coach Boomer's voice.

"Why didn't you tell me Hope's daughter would be attending this year? I would have held back and most of the school's windows wouldn't be broken right now." Boomer asked.

"I didn't tell anyone she'd be attending here for a reason." Lynda told him quietly. "Hope entrusted me with her and after ten years I am not about to let anything happen to her. She needs to learn how to control her powers, and she needs to learn quickly before someone decides to use it for evil, or kills her while trying to. That is not something we can afford."

The next couple of words exchanged were too quiet to be heard through the door and then the door opened. Coach Boomer walked out of the office then Serenity knocked on the open door and walked inside. Lynda raised her eyebrows, "Is everything alright? Did something happen?"

"It's nothing the cafeteria is just over packed, so I was thinking that we could eat lunch together here…that is if you're not too busy."

"Of course not, come in and close the door." Serenity did as she was told and sat down in the chair in front of Lynda's desk. "So…I was hoping that'd we'd be able to go home together…but it seems that there's some work I have to do so I won't be out of here by the time school ends. Are you going to be alright?"

"Don't worry too much Auntie you'll get wrinkles. I'll catch the bus home, everything will be fine." Serenity smiled encouragingly.

"I'll try to be back before dark and if I'm not you know what to do. I'll pick up some pizza too, so don't worry about making dinner." They listened to Serenity's stomach growl. "Hurry up and eat before you're stomach breaks the rest of my windows."

"It's not that bad, is it?" She pulled out her lunch and started eating.

The rest of power placement went smoothly and the freshmen either went home with their heads held high, or looking at the ground because their powers weren't enough to make it as heroes. Serenity was stopped just as she got on the bus, "What's your name, freshmen and why weren't you on the bus this morning?"

'Wow, I am explaining myself a lot today aren't I?' She rolled her eyes internally, "My name is Serenity Powers and I wasn't on the bus this morning because I caught a ride with my aunt."

"So you're the girl I've been hearing about. I'm Ron Wilson, Sky High bus driver; now go take your seat." He smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back thankful that there was at least one normal person at this school.

There was an empty seat near the front of the bus and she sat down placing her head against the window. 'This school's window replacement system is amazing.'

* * *

><p>"Sorry we're late Ron." Will apologized for the group he was with as they climbed onto the bus. "Some sophomores were picking on a freshman, and I just couldn't stand by while it happened."<p>

"No need to explain yourself now go on so we can get this bus moving." Ron told them.

The six of them got onto the bus, Will and Layla first. Then Zach and Magenta. Then finally Ethan and Warren. "So Warren…" Will looked back. "My place tonight?"

"Can't. I have work. You know that thing some of us have to do." Warren told him as his eyes met with the girl who had comet white hair while Will simply rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you need to stop working…you're making me a fifth wheel." Ethan complained.

Warren looked back at the five in front of him then sat down in an empty seat, "Then stop complaining and do something about it, like finding yourself a girlfriend, Popsicle."

"Easy for you to say, not all of us naturally have super good looks." They all rolled their eyes.

That's when Magenta noticed who sat at the front of the bus, "Hey isn't that the girl from this morning, you know the one who got out of Principal Powers' car?"

"Yeah I talked to her a bit this morning, her name is Serenity. I heard she and Coach Boomer were the ones who shattered the windows this morning. And has anyone else noticed how awesome our school window replacement system is?" Will asked them.

"So did you find out if she was Principal Powers' daughter?" Layla looked at him, completely unaware of the bus flying through the clouds and taking them home.

"Just that they have the same last name." He shrugged.

Warren looked at the girl again and then whispered to himself, "I don't think they're mother and daughter…"

"What did you say Warren?" Zach asked, determined to be a part of this conversation.

"Nothing." Warren told him, as he continued to eye the girl.

* * *

><p>Serenity was surprised to find herself topic to idle teenage gossip, before Sky High she had just been the girl with the strange colored hair that no one wanted anything to do with. That's when she looked to the empty spot beside her and then rolled her eyes, 'Correction, no one still wants anything to do with me.'<p>

She watched as Ron went from Sky High bus driver/pilot to a regular bus driver in the course of thirty seconds. Then watched as her peers began to get off the bus, eventually leaving her with only one other student, the same student who she had locked eyes with earlier and who had been keeping his eye on her ever since he sat down. She watched as they drove into her section of the neighborhood and began to gather her stuff. Ron stopped the bus and she got off with a quick thank you.

She ran to her house eager to change into something more comfy then her pair of jeans and drop off her bag. She arrived at the house that she lived in with Lynda; the house that she's been living for almost ten years now. She didn't call it home though, her home was the house where she and her mother lived in all those years ago. She swallowed down the yearning feeling that threatened to overwhelm her. 'Oh fine! There's no point in denying myself any longer…It could probably use a good tidying.' She dashed up the front stairs and unlocked the front door then walked in as quickly as possible.

She had changed and was now looking at her bike. "Just one quick visit before Auntie comes home, where's the harm in that? Come on Serenity, nothing's going to happen." She swung her leg over and sat on the bike while trying to remember that she was supposed to be courageous and that even if she was a sidekick she could defend herself perfectly fine without some hero.

She rode her bike down the street and several blocks later she was staring at the bright yellow house with black roof tiles. It had always made her laugh how the black tiles looked so out of place, but now it just made her heart ache. She pulled a key out of her pocket as she walked up to the door then slide it into the key hole. The door swung open and she walked inside quietly, not that it would have made any difference no one lived here anyways. "I'm home." She whispered to the empty house.

She walked up the stairs and to the first bedroom on her right, it was her old room. There was a crib that wasn't full anymore and on it sat alone teddy bear. A bear that she had told her Aunt that she'd lost it, even though that wasn't true. She had left it there to keep the house company; she walked inside the room and grabbed it. She squeezed it and the old recorded message inside of it activated, "I love you Serenity." The voice made her heart ache even more; it was her mother's voice.

With a quick turn on her heel she left the room and walked into the room just a door away. The door she knew was never closed and the light always shone through the window, she looked at the bed then decided to go lay down on it. She began whispering into the emptiness of the house. "Hi mom, it's me again. I thought I'd come and see how you are. Today was my first day at Sky High. Can you believe it? Me a high school student, I haven't made any friends yet, but it was just my first day so I can't expect too much right? I also met Coach Boomer today I don't think he expected to me, of course I don't think he planned to break most of the windows at school today either. Did you know our window replacement system is amazing? Because by the time I was heading to the bus most of the windows had been fixed." A warm and peaceful feeling surrounded her and she drifted off to sleep as she talked about her day.


	2. A Girl and Her Demon

(A/N: Chapter two! How exciting! Reviews are loved and welcome, though mostly I don't know how to respond to them. =D So chapter two enjoy.)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to its legal owners

Chapter two: A Girl and Her Demon

Serenity felt like she'd done something she wasn't supposed to. She heard her watch beeping first and then opened her eyes. The darkness in the room made her shudder and caused chills to run up her spine. _"__The dark is a scary place, there__'s__ a demon in it that will try and take you away from me.__"_Her Aunt told her a tale as a child and it was the reason why she was still terrified of the dark. She remembered the story as she began to run out of the house, it began with a demon that had always yearned to be the most powerful out there and in order to obtain that power he had to capture a ray of hope. Now this ray of hope was in the form of a woman, this woman had the ability to strengthen any power and because of this she was a powerful asset to any force. The woman was loved by many people; she had the ability to bring out the best in anybody, even the demon. However the demon grew mad with jealousy when he found out that she had had someone else's child, because of this the demon went into hiding for several years. The demon had always had the ability to manipulate shadows, but when he reappeared he had mastered the ability to use them as mode of transportation. The demon kidnapped the woman and took her to his lair, where he held her captive until she gave her power to him. She knew what would happen if she gave her power to him, so she refused. Her will was strong but his was dangerous, he threatened her with her own daughter. Still she refused and in the end he killed her. Despite the fact that everyone looked for the demon who took away their ray of hope, they couldn't find him and he's still out there somewhere.

Normally Serenity wasn't scared of those sorts of stories, she thought of them like the boogie man just a story that parents told their kids to get them to behave. But this one held some truth, the first time her Aunt told her this story she spent the night staring into the darkness of her room. That was until a shadowy figure appeared in her view and reached out for her. That night she screamed and screamed until Lynda burst through the door and flicked on the lights. It wasn't until much later that she found out the story was about her mother.

Now she stood under the nearest lamppost to the house gasping for air, she gripped her bike handles tightly. "Okay I can make it home; after all it's a very straight route back to the house." She looked around and the darkness was nearly suffocating, she had to look somewhere else so she looked at her watch the current time was ten thirty. "Or perhaps I could wait here until Auntie comes looking for me."

She looked around at the impending darkness and could have sworn that she saw something move. 'Don't panic Serenity, there's no need to be afraid. You're just seeing things; that's all.' That's when she heard the most ominous noise; it was a noise that she knew well because she was always replacing them at home it was the sound of a light bulb going out. "Please don't go out…please, please don't go out." She whispered pleadingly to the light above her. The light blinked twice and then went out leaving Serenity in complete darkness. "Of course…"

* * *

><p>Warren was walking home from the Paper Lantern, while stretching. It had been a busy night and he was worn out. He looked up and noticed that one of the lampposts on the street was out. That's when he saw something move and he had a fire ball out in seconds. He slowly stocked towards the darkness, even though the night sky was clear and it was practically a full moon, the street was darker it should have been. Even the other lampposts seemed darker than they should have. That's when he saw it, comet white hair running to the nearest lamppost.<p>

Serenity Powers sat down under the lamppost with her back clinging to the cold metal. Her chest heaved as she watched as the darkness began to close in around her. Warren watched as a shadowy figure walked into the light, just enough to be seen and probably enough to see. Serenity's eyes widened, "Demons aren't supposed to be able to enter the light."

The figure laughed, "Now who told you I was a demon? Now then come with me." He reached out for her.

"NO! I will not have anything to do with your evil!" She watched as a fireball flew through the shadowy figure.

"What the? Did that just pass through him?" Warren threw another fireball then watched as it passed through the figure again. "Well this is unexpected…"

'His power alone can't win, you know this. HELP HIM!' Her mind screamed at her. She watched as the guy created another fireball, she looked at the fireball and concentrated on nothing but it. She added what she thought was enough power to help break the illusion and actually do some damage. He threw the fireball and it hit the shadow in the shoulder causing the shadow to scream in pain. She took this opportunity to get up and run behind the person who she now recognized as Warren Peace, the school's former badass. "We need to get going, we need to hide."

The lights on the house lit up behind them, until it was nearly glowing. The door opened and a woman called out, "Warren in here! Hurry!"

Warren took a hold of Serenity's hand and led her to the house. She looked around at the shadows that began licking at their feet. She could nearly tripped over some of them, were shadows supposed to take physical form? She had no idea all she knew was that if they didn't get inside soon they'd be goners.

He led them up the stairs and onto the porch. The hand that held onto hers nearly threw her inside and he quickly followed slamming the door shut. "What the hell was that?" He asked with his back pressed against the door.

"There's no need to shout, Warren we're right here." The woman who got them inside crossed her arms then looked at a gasping Serenity on the floor.

"And who are you for that matter? What did that thing want? And why couldn't I hit it?" Warren looked back and forth between the two of them. That's when he noticed the scratches covering Serenity's exposed skin. "You're bleeding!"

"Warren help me get her to the couch."

He nodded and knelt by the girl close enough to smell the faintest smell of perfume. The smell brought a memory reeling to the surface, _"__Alright Serenity, be good for Mrs. Peace.__"__ He remembered seeing a woman kissing the forehead of a small girl and then the woman came over to him. __"__I__'__m sorry for making you watch over her all the time Warren.__"__ She kissed his forehead before turning to go talk to his mother._

"Warren?" He looked at his mother now as she rushed about the room trying to get the couch comfy enough for their guest to sit on without hurting herself, she stopped long enough to look at him and snap him out of his reverie.

He shook his head and then slung the girl's arm over his shoulder. He helped lift her to her feet then brought her to the couch. "Thank you…" Serenity whispered.

The woman took her hands, "Oh dear! You're like ice! Warren go get some warm water and a cloth. Don't forget bandages."

"But!" He started but with one glance he sighed, "Yes mother, but I want answers when I get back."

Serenity looked back and forth between Warren and the woman who sat in front of her. "Mother?"

"Yes I am the infamous mother of Warren Peace." She grinned.

"Um…Mrs. Peace…" Serenity started but was cut off.

"Call me Helen, Serenity. It's been a long time, almost ten years…Oh how you've grown." Helen gushed, something she wasn't able to do while Warren was in the room.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Oh right…you were only a babe back then. Even Warren has a hard time remembering that far back and that boy's like an elephant when it comes to remembering." Helen rolled her eyes.

"I heard that." Warren's eyes narrowed as he walked into the room with a small basin. The basin had a cloth hanging over the side and he carried the bandages under his elbow. He placed the basin on the table and sat down in the chair. "Now I want answers."

They both ignored him, "Mrs. Peace, I'm fine, really, and I really should be getting going before my aunt has a fit."

"Oh no! You are sitting down and answering my questions." He sat up and glared at her.

"And I don't want these to get infected. I'll take you to your aunt's after I dress these wounds." Helen told her.

Serenity sighed, "Fine."

"First and foremost who are you?" He demanded.

"Serenity Powers; freshmen and sidekick at Sky High. You should know that, your friends were gossiping about me on the bus earlier." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine then, what are you doing here? If I remember correctly Ron dropped you off before me."

"I rode my bike over here to check out my home." She averted her eyes and then paled. "Oh my poor bike…I wonder how it's fairing out there." She looked at the window.

"Now what was that thing out there? And why didn't you do anything to defend yourself from it?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well forgive me for not having any offensive powers, like super strength or the ability to manipulate plants or better yet shoot fireballs, which were oh so effective on him."

He raised an eyebrow, "Okay everyone knows about Stronghold's strength and my fire power…but no one except those who witnessed last year's homecoming know about the Hippie's power. Speaking of powers, what is your power? Or do you even have one, sidekick?"

"Warren!" Helen scolded him as she finished applying the final bandage onto Serenity. She sighed and then looked up at Serenity, "Come on I'll take you home since my son seems to be acting like an insensitive jerk right now."

"Um actually could I use your washroom for about thirty seconds?" Serenity asked, praying that she looked better then how she felt.

"Of course it's your first door on your left." Helen told her and then waited for her to leave before looking at her son again. "I'll explain everything when I get back. So for now try to act civilized." Serenity walked back into the room. "Alright dear, let's get you home. Does Lynda still live in the same house, or have you moved?"

"No we still live in the same house, I'm not sure what it is about heroes that makes moving seem so impossible." Serenity shrugged as they headed to the door.

"What can I say? Heroes are definitely not meant to be nomads." Helene laughed, and walked out of the door with Serenity, closing it behind her.

"Speak for yourselves!" Warren called after them then pulled out the cell phone Layla had insisted he bought in case of emergencies and this was something he classified as an emergency. He called Will's cell and Will conveniently picked up the phone on the first ring.

"Hey Warren, what's up?" Will asked.

"Dude, shut up and listen." There was silence on the line, "I need to know everything you can find out about the Powers family and everything you can on a villain or at least what I'm assuming is a villain, who can manipulate shadows."

"And why don't you do it?" Will asked slightly confused.

"Because I don't have a super computer in my basement." Warren rolled his eyes even though Will couldn't see it.

"Oh right, hold on Layla wants to ask you something." He heard the sound of Will's phone being passed to another person.

"Is everything alright Warren? Are you hurt? What happened?" Layla asked her voice panicked. It was pretty bad when the level headed Hippie was panicked.

"I'm fine. Who's all there?" Warren asked pinching the bridge of his nose; if he was going to maintain any dignity at all it'd be from the sidekicks of their group not hearing the night's events.

"It's just Will and I; now tell me what happened before I worry myself to death!"

"Calm down, hippie put me on speaker phone and I'll tell you." He heard a beep.

"This must be serious if you're asking for our help." Will told them with false worry.

"Shut up Stronghold." Warren told him, that's when he heard Layla hit Will. "So tonight I was on my way home from work, as usual. When I reached my street one of the lamppost bulbs were out, nothing strange there right? Wrong, I saw something move in the shadow and guess who was there."

"Who?" Layla asked.

"The mysterious Serenity Powers, she came running out of the shadows and into the light of another post. See the strange thing was that everything was darkened, it's a clear night out there and the moon's nearly full…but I could barely see. So anyways a figure, cloaked in shadow walked into the light and I flung a fireball right at it, you know what happened. It passed right through him! I mean it didn't even phase him, neither did the second one but something changed with the third one and I wounded it…"

"Oh my gosh! Warren are you alright? Please tell me you aren't hurt!" Layla screeched.

"I'm fine Layla quit worrying, after all I'm not the one it wanted." Warren heard the car pull up to the driveway. "Oh shit I got to go."

"Warren!" Layla called, causing Warren to pause, "Be careful, okay?"

"Alright." He hung up and stuck the phone in his back pocket as his mother walked in.

Helen walked in and sank against the door, she whispered quietly to herself, "I thought it was over." She stood and then walked over the couch but didn't sit down.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" He looked at her with his hands laced together under his chin.

She crossed the room and looked out the window. "It goes back to my time as a sophomore at Sky High. There was this sidekick in my graduating class, her name was Hope…"

* * *

><p>Will had just walked Layla home and now he was standing in the kitchen with his dad. "Dad…can I ask you something?"<p>

"What is it Will?" Steve looked up from his sandwich, something about Will's voice made him worry, not that he'd ever show it.

"Do you know of any villains who can manipulate shadows?" Will asked nonchalantly as if it didn't really matter.

Steve dropped the jar of mayonnaise he was holding and looked at his son dumbstruck. Josie ran into the room, "What happened? What broke?"

"It's just the mayonnaise, but I think it's time we told him." Steve locked eyes with Josie.

"Told me what?" Will looked back and forth between the two.

"So he's back then?" Josie's voice was sorrow filled.

"Who's back?" Will asked.

"Perhaps you better sit down for this it's a long story." Steve told him as he grabbed a paper towel to clean up the mayonnaise. Will and Josie sat down and Steve sighed, "I guess it all started with a sophomore in the sidekick class, her name was Hope…"

* * *

><p>Lynda sat down on the chair while Serenity sat down on the couch. "Are you going to be alright?" Lynda asked.<p>

"I'll be fine, they're just superficial scrapes." Serenity laughed halfheartedly, in the brightly lit room.

Lynda sighed, "I wanted to keep this from you for as long as I could, but I guess I have to tell you the truth now. About how this all began…and how your mother died…Hope at the time was a sophomore at Sky High, and a sidekick much like yourself…"


	3. The Woman Who Sought Change

(A/N: Yay Chapter Three! So I'm not sure if the year is actually correct but I spent a very harsh five minutes trying to pause the movie at the right spot and got the numbers 78 so that is the year I am guess the Commander graduated from Sky High. And sadly my seventies speak is lacking and the only word I know for sure is that they used is Soda instead of pop. So enjoy and review =D)

Chapter Three: The Woman Who Sought Change

Sky High: 1978

There was one sidekick who was more sought out than rest, her name was Hope Powers. Hope was the kind of girl who was able to brighten anyone's day. She had a rare power, the power to increase another super being's power, a power that had been lost for a thousand years and it was a power everyone wanted. They wanted to become stronger, however there was one in particular who wanted that power the most.

"I'm telling you to be careful, there's been a rumor going around that someone has been recruiting villains at the school." A younger Lynda looked at her sister who was fixing her lip-gloss.

"You worry too much, after all what villain wants a sidekick with no offensive powers?" Hope rolled her eyes.

"The kind who wants to be the most powerful villain out there; you know the kind who wants to become unstoppable…so unstoppable that even Steve Stronghold can't take them."

"Steve's pretty much invincible…I doubt that will ever happen. Anyways there will only ever be one person who I let use my power."

Lynda sighed, "Well…there's a party going on tonight. You coming?"

"Aren't those usually meant for the heroes, I'm a sidekick remember?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"They are but you're popular enough to be able to go and not get kicked out. Plus I heard Barron's going." Lynda grinned as Hope's face turned every shade of red possible.

"It's not like that! Plus he's claimed, remember?" The two walked out of the bathroom and were greeted by at least a dozen heroes. "Okay I know everyone's being nice because they want my power but honestly is it bad that I like the attention?"

"Any girl would want your position, look at the Winters' girl she's green with envy. Anyways party tonight? You going or not?" Lynda asked.

"I haven't decided yet…it's kind of sudden."

"Oh look your admirer's waiting for you. Think about it, okay?"

"Fine fine." Hope walked to her locker, "Hey Brian." Brian's eyes were almost black and he smiled. "Okay, I know that look something's going on."

"Did you hear about the party tonight?" He asked.

"Yeah Lynda just asked me about it. Why?"

"I was just wondering…have you decided whether you're going?"

She sighed, "Fine, fine I'll go."

"So I'll see you there." He beamed and then walked off.

* * *

><p>The party was in full swing by the time Hope and Lynda arrived. "Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea." Hope said, "It's full of heroes and they're all not pro-sidekick. If I remember correctly not a lot of people here like me…I think I'll go home."<p>

"No you are coming because you told Brian you would…and remember Barren Battle will be here." Lynda told her and nearly pushed her towards the house.

"I keep telling you it's not like that!" Hope told her, as her blush came back with a burn.

The two walked into the house and everyone's heads turned. "Lynda! Hope! You made it!" The host of the party called with a wave.

Steve Stronghold walked over, "Ladies," He took one of them on each arm. "Welcome to party central."

Lynda playfully hit him, "Give it up Stronghold, she's my sidekick. You can't have her. Plus she's got a thing for your archenemy."

"I do not! Lynda stop teasing me!" Hope let out an exasperated sigh.

"Curse you Baron Battle…" He shook his fist.

"Hope!" Helen Peace called as she waved through the crowd.

Hope ducked out from under Steve's arm "I've got to go." She ran to where Helen was waiting and was handed a drink, "Just soda right?"

"Just soda, you're always the one who has to drive. Have you ever thought about having fun?"

"I do have fun."

"Watching television with your parents does not count as fun. Come on let's go find something fun for you to do." Helen got a huge grin on her face as Hope turned three different shades of red.

"Helen!" She nearly cried, earning strange looks from those around her.

"Not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter!" Helen lightly pushed her and then her eyes went to the foosball table. "Look Baron Battle, nine o'clock."

"I keep telling you guys that it's not like that…ooh…He's wearing those jeans." Hope bit her bottom lip and grinned.

"Not like that?" Helen raised an eyebrow. "Although he does look good tonight…"

"Ugh there's Ivy Winters. I swear she's just going out with him to get back at us for that one time in gym…I don't even think she's capable of feeling. She's a complete and utter ice witch if you ask me." Hope glared.

"What happened to you being the shining star of everyone's life? Oh so nice to everyone and everything that comes your way." Helen smirked.

"Oh please you of all people know that's not true. Maybe sometime in the future but right now, my teenage hormones are blocking my judgment. Plus I've seen the way he looks at you." Hope raised an eyebrow as Helen blushed.

"What was that Stronghold?" They heard Barren Battle yell.

"You heard me!" Steve stuck his fists up, ready to start a fight.

The two girls looked at each other and Hope spoke, "Okay intervening now." They pushed through the crowd. "Barren, Steve what is this about?" She looked back and forth between them.

"Barren, let's go get some fresh air." Helen placed a hand on his arm and he let himself be led out.

"Someone get Steve a glass of cold water, before he makes any more of a fool of himself." Hope crossed her arms and glared at Steve until he sighed and backed down.

"Ooooh, stared down by a sidekick." One of the boys called.

Steve shot a glare into the crowd then looked back at Hope, "Don't get too cocky, you're still a sidekick."

"Then stop making a fool of yourself." She glared at him from under her auburn bangs.

Lynda stepped in between them, "Okay you two, play nicely." She shot a glare at Hope, who had disappeared into the crowd. "Where did she go this time?" She let out an exasperated sigh.

Hope let out a sigh of relief, "Have I told you how much I love your shadow manipulation?" She looked into Brian's eyes.

"Oh I know you do, which is why I decided to rescue you." He ran his hand against her cheek with the gentlest of touches.

She laughed, "Hey, none of that we're in public. So what's on your mind? You wouldn't have bailed me out for no reason."

"I need your help…"

"With?"

"Someone took something of mine and I want it back, but I can't do it with my power alone." There was a glint in his eyes that set off all of her warning bells.

"No." She turned to leave but the power she had just claimed to love pinned her to the wall.

"Then I'll just take it by force." A final shadow covered her mouth so she couldn't scream. He placed a hand on her forehead and spread nightmares into her thoughts.

Helen walked through the back door with Barren after he had calmed down. She looked around the crowd and then looked back at him, "Do you see Hope?"

"The sidekick who's always with you?" She nodded, "She was standing with Brian by the kitchen."

Her stomach turned and squeezed, "Oh no she's in trouble." She turned on her heel and dashed towards the kitchen where she saw Hope chained up to the wall by shadows and then saw Brian fully powered up using his special technique which they referred to as Nightmare Creation. Helen flung her hand as a physical way of using her telekinesis which sent Brian flying through the wall and outside onto the grass.

The party goers ran over to see what was going on; they looked back and forth between Helen and Brian. The young heroes crossed their arms and waited to see if he would try anything else. All he did was cry out "I'll get your power eventually. This isn't the end!" He then disappeared into the shadows.

Helen looked at Hope only to see her being helped up by one of their upperclassmen. Hope looked up at the person helping her out and her heart nearly stopped. His comet white hair nearly covered his eyes and he smiled, "Kyle…" She whispered.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he helped her up. "I'm sorry about my brother; he can be a real jerk sometimes."

Several years had passed before they heard from Brian again. The young heroes were now adults and they had all settled down, though most of them hadn't given up hero work. Barren Battle was put into solitary confinement when his son turned two, that's when Helen quit her hero work to raise her son as a full time mother and to keep them fed. Steve got married to a super heroine and they had a boy, neither one of them gave up their super hero work because they had become far too attached to it over the years. Lynda remained vigilant in the super hero world, not bothering to settle down. Hope and Kyle had a baby girl with comet white hair. Kyle was never able to hold his daughter because he passed away on a mission, three months before she was born. Hope raised the girl on her own until she was four that's when tragedy struck the Powers family.

"Are you sure about this Hope?" Helen asked as the two of them sat in her kitchen.

Hope nodded solemnly, "It's him. There's no doubt about it…haven't you noticed the darkened streets? People going missing in the middle of the night from their rooms; it's his way of warning me…he's coming and I need to keep Serenity safe from him at all costs."

"You don't even know if she'll manifest your powers…she might get Kyle's or something completely different, or none at all." Helen took her hands into her own.

"I'm hoping that that's the case but it may not be which is why I'm going on one final mission." Hope squeezed Helen's hands.

"But you're…"

"Just a sidekick? That may be but this is my battle…I can't bring anyone else into this."

"Then take me with you, let me help you." Helen pleaded.

Hope shook her head, "You need to look after Warren he doesn't have anyone else. Serenity still has Lynda if anything happens to me."

"And what happens if anything happens to Lynda?"

"Then she still has you." Hope smiled.

"Mommy?" A four year old Serenity asked.

"Mom, what's going on?" A seven year old Warren asked.

Hope got up and crossed the room and she took the small girl into her arms. "I love you my darling Serenity."

"I love you too mommy."

"Be good for Mrs. Peace, I'll be back as soon as I can." She put down Serenity and went to Warren, "Take care of them okay?" She kissed his forehead then turned and waved at Helen. "Bye, Helen. Take care alright?"

Helen could feel the tears well in her eyes as she stood, "I will…" She watched as Hope walked out the door. Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground sobbing, she knew with every fiber of her being that Hope Powers wasn't coming back alive.

The Present:

Lynda looked at Serenity, "When I got to her it was too late, I couldn't save her."

"She wasn't able to defeat this Brian guy either and that's why he's after me now." Serenity sighed. "By the way, did you really have to tell me about her crush on Barron Battle? EW! I didn't need to know that!"

Lynda looked at the clock, "It's late you should get to bed, you've got school tomorrow."

"I'm attacked and I still have to go to school." Serenity's eyes narrowed, but she stood and kissed Lynda on the cheek. "Night Auntie."

* * *

><p>Will looked back and forth between his parents, "Did she live?"<p>

"No…You and Layla were only five at the time so you probably don't remember, but we left you with Layla's father and Layla's mother joined us for the funeral." Josie told him.

"They even let Barron Battle out of prison for the funeral. That was the one time we didn't fight." Steve told him. "Now it's late get some sleep."

'How am I supposed to sleep after that?' Will's brow furrowed, "Alright, I'll see you in the morning." He went to his room, but spent the night staring at his ceiling until he finally passed out.

* * *

><p>Warren looked at his mother with shock then composed himself quickly and whispered, "Well I'm glad to know I'm not going crazy." Then he looked at Helen with warm eyes, eyes she hadn't seen since he was just a boy. "So you and my father weren't together just for convenience then?"<p>

She smiled kindly, "No I liked to think that he cared about me the same way I cared about him."

"So then why did he leave you…us…to go become a super villain?" Even though he would never admit it out loud, the question had plagued him ever since he was old enough to think about it.

"Every father wants to prove to his son he's a hero, Barron just went down the wrong path when he did it." Helen got off of the couch and went to stare out the window again.

"Mom, can I ask one more question…about father that is." She nodded. "Did he ever…you know…hit you?" Normally he never would have been this careful about asking his mother anything, but when it came to Barron Battle he knew to watch his words. There was one thing he couldn't swallow and that was seeing her cry.

She smiled, "Once…in Save the Citizen. He never tried to again."

He felt chills go up his spine, he had known his mother was dangerous but he didn't know just how dangerous she was until that moment. He got up off the couch and went to the window where she stood then kissed her on the cheek, "Goodnight mom."

She smiled and touched her cheek; he hadn't kissed her since he was in the first grade. "Goodnight Warren."

The next morning:

Serenity opened the paper that was sitting on the kitchen counter as she bit into her toast. "I'm leaving early today, please take the bus. Try not to miss it, you're lunch in is the fridge love Auntie." She sighed and looked at the clock, "That gives me…oh no! I'm going to be late on my first real day of school…and if she wasn't the principal I might have gotten away with skipping." She pulled her bag off the counter and grabbed her lunch out of the fridge then ran out the door as she slipped on her shoes. She quickly locked up then dashed to the bus stop, as she swallowed her last bit of toast.

She wiped the back of her forehead with her wrist when she made it to the bus stop on time and nearly screamed as the little bit of sweat got into her scrapes from the night before. "Son of a-" She trailed off as Ron opened the bus door.

"Morning." He noticed the scrapes on her wrists and arms. "What happened to you?"

"Oh these…" She smiled and went for a half-truth instead of a full blown lie, "I just fell off my bike last night…no big deal." She had in fact fallen off her bike the previous just after the light bulb went out and she tried to escape…although the shadows had pulled the bike out from under her and then went about their business trying to kidnap her.

She looked up to see Warren Peace sitting at the back of the bus staring at her. She quickly turned and sat in one of the seats in the front. 'Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him…he might go away…he might go away…he might-' Her thought was cut off as he sat down beside her. "Of course not." She muttered.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

She looked at him, "Your mother's such a sweetheart…where did you go wrong?"

"I had to watch over you for four years of my life." He glared at her.

She looked at him with her jaw dropped, "Not my choice by the way."

"Yeah I know, it wouldn't have been mine either. But it seems our mothers were really good friends."

"Your point?" She looked at him skeptically.

He looked away and let out a sigh, "My mother wants you to come over for dinner sometime to catch up."

She looked out the window, "Your friends are getting on, it'd be best if you aren't seen with me."

"Alright then, but you should know…my mother doesn't give up easily." He got up and went to sit in his spot from before.

* * *

><p>Somehow lunch had arrived faster than it should have. Serenity was on her way to the office because she didn't want to bother trying to find a table where she could sit by herself. The buzzing from yesterday had returned with a vengeance so she thought she'd convince her aunt to lock her in the detention room until lunch was over at least that way her raging headache would go away for a while.<p>

The secretary looked at her and smiled, "Just the girl I was about to call. The principal's waiting for you, she said to just walk in."

Serenity raised an eyebrow, "Um…kay?" She walked inside the office, which was over crowded already. Will Stronghold, Warren Peace and a girl wearing a lot of green and a flower print skirt were sitting in the chairs around the office wall. "What's going on?"

"Serenity…meet your new guards." Lynda told her.

The last word repeated its self in her head and she had to shake it to get it to stop. "My what?"


	4. A Girl and Her Gaurds

(A/N: Yay Chapter four is now ready for your enjoyment. =D Reviews still loved and still welcomed)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Four: A Girl and Her Guards

"My what?" Serenity didn't know whether to be appalled or laugh at the ridiculousness of it. She decided for option C being in denial, "I'm sorry I must be hearing things because I could have sworn you said guards, which is ridiculous because I don't need guards. I mastered three different types of martial arts by the time I turned thirteen, I do not need guards."

"Martial arts aren't going to help you against him." Lynda laced her hands together and leaned back. "You have no offensive powers and I'm not going to leave you alone for the next couple of weeks."

"Wait…what? You're leaving? When was this decided?" Serenity ran a hand through her hair, slightly hurt that her aunt had kept something like this a secret.

"This morning, I'm going on a business trip…nothing too important just a conference or two in another city and after what happened last night I just don't want you to be alone while I'm gone."

"When are you leaving?" Serenity tried to look angry but it just wasn't working.

"Tomorrow morning." Lynda looked at her afraid she might find out what she was really planning to do.

"Ah…" Was all she said, "Anyways, the reason I'm here was because I wanted to see if-" She was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing. "Oh never mind then…I'll see you when you get home." She turned out of the office and nearly ran down the hallway to her next class.

Lynda sighed then looked at the three waiting, "This is top secret…she isn't to find out what I'm actually doing or it'll just put her in more danger. If I can draw his attention away from her then maybe it'll give the Commander and Jetstream enough time to finally capture him."

Will grinned, "Have no fear we'll keep your niece safe no matter what."

Layla smiled, "Leave it to us." Warren grunted in agreement, though he was still upset that he'd be losing hours at work for this. That's when Layla whispered to him, "Look we'll cover you're working nights."

"Good luck with that." He scoffed then headed out the door.

* * *

><p>Warren caught up with Serenity near the end of school; somehow she had managed to disappear out from under their radar. Will had checked her classes but she had either already left or had snuck out in the middle of the lesson and nobody had noticed. "You are absolutely determined to not let us do this job aren't you?"<p>

Serenity nearly fell off of the tree she had managed to climb into, "Don't you have class?" She asked as she composed herself and regained her balance.

"Don't you?" He asked as he began to climb up it.

She shrugged, "I told Mr. Boy that I wasn't feeling well, he thinks that I'm in the nurse's office." He had just managed to reach her height when she swung down from the tree and began walking away. He let out a frustrated noise then climbed down and began following her. "I don't need guards!"

"Well apparently you do."

"I do not. That's just my aunt's way of over worrying."

He caught up with her in three large strides and grabbed her arm. He quickly turned her around and pulled her wrist in front of her eyes, showing her the scrapes from the previous night. "I think you do. You didn't fall off your bike and you know it. We've been brought into this thing and now we're here to stay so stop pretending like you don't need us."

She pulled her wrist of his hand, "Technically I did fall off my bike, well they pulled it out from under me, but that's not the point. The point is I don't need you, plus there's no way you people would be able to handle my schedule."

He raised an eyebrow, "Is that a challenge?"

"No it's a warning." She turned and started heading for the buses.

He wasn't sure what it was about that girl but she irritated him to no end. "Warren?" Will asked.

"She's irritating." He growled as he stalked towards the bus.

Will looked at Layla who shrugged. "He's in a bad mood today." She frowned.

"You mean more so than usual? I didn't think that was possible." He took her hand began to follow Warren so he didn't light Serenity on fire.

They got onto the bus saw Warren brooding and muttering to himself in a seat at the front of the bus a couple of seats behind Serenity. "Go talk to Warren." Layla told him then went to sit down by Serenity. "Hi."

"Hi?" Serenity looked up then frowned. "Oh it's you…"

"I'm Layla." She stuck out her hand.

"I'm Serenity, though you probably already know that." She took Layla's hand in her own and they shook. She pulled away quickly as the images of plants flooded her mind. "Oh you're the girl with the plant manipulation power…cool."

"How did you know?" Layla looked confused.

"I can sense other peoples powers…It's very useful although it usually just gives me a headache." She shrugged and went back to looking out the window.

"Oh…that must be tough to deal with in a school of superheroes."

"Not all of them are going to become heroes." She whispered.

Layla looked at her and suddenly she looked older than she was. "So…what time do you want us to pick you up tomorrow?"

"Who said anything about being picked up?" Serenity looked at her with utter disbelief.

"Principal Powers did…shouldn't we?" Layla asked surprised to feel so utterly rejected.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't but if I have no choice in the matter, which I'm starting to think I don't then it doesn't matter."

"Alright then we'll be there at seven. Oh I guess should tell you, one of us will always be with you. That means after school too, I'll be on night watch. Principal Powers said I could use the guest room." Layla smiled.

"Then I suppose you should know I get up at four every morning." She grinned as that smile on Layla face faltered.

She opened her mouth, but she only managed to squeak, "Why?"

"Because when you have no offensive abilities, unarmed combat starts looking really good." Serenity shrugged.

"You know Will's mother's an expert at unarmed combat, have you thought about asking her for any sort of lessons?" Layla suggested, trying to remain positive which was hard when she was dealing with her complete opposite.

"I've heard of Jetstream and her prowess in unarmed combat but I don't know her and it would be rude of me to ask something of someone who I don't even know." She looked at her as if this was blatantly obvious.

"That's true…oh this is my stop. Warren's going accompany you home and wait with you until your aunt comes home." Layla got up.

"Wait what?" Serenity asked with wide eyes. "Layla!"

"Have fun and play nicely." She waved and got off the bus with Will.

"How could today get any worse?" Serenity moaned to herself softly.

* * *

><p>Will and Layla watched as the bus drove off, "Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Will asked her as they began their trek home.<p>

"They're going to have to learn to get along somehow." She told him, "Trust me."

"He's going to kill us tomorrow…" He muttered.

She pushed him with her shoulder gently, "He's not if anything he should be thanking us for giving him some time alone with her. I know he'd never say it out loud but I honestly think he wants to say something to her."

"Like telling her how much he hates this?"

"Probably, but still he's changed you know."

"Like him not trying to kill me on weekly basis?" He grinned.

* * *

><p>How did he end up in this position? He was Warren Peace! He wasn't a babysitter to watch over some freshmen. This had to be the Hippie and Stronghold's influence before they came around he was the most feared student at Sky High. He was the son of Barron Battle for crying out loud but that didn't matter anymore, not since he had helped save the school at last year's homecoming dance, another thing that was Stronghold's fault. Now that he had a 'Good Guy' reputation he couldn't have said no to when the principal had a 'favor' of him. So here he was sitting at her kitchen table doing homework with her niece sitting right across from him.<p>

He looked up at Serenity as she gnawed on her pencil, clearly trying to figure out her current problem. "Keep staring at me Warren and you'll give your girlfriend the wrong idea." She told him nonchalantly as she wrote something down then went onto her next question.

"And what makes you think I have a girlfriend?" He asked as he placed his hand under his chin.

"Simple, I was able to smell her perfume on you while we walked inside. She also has blond hair and has the ability to manipulate ice." She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know?" He was slightly shocked by how correct she was though he'd never let it show.

"There were a couple of strands of blond hair attached to your jacket and your lips look like they've been frostbitten over a hundred times. Sure the damage may not show to anyone who sees you on a regular basis but to someone who knows frostbites…yeah I can tell."

"You're far too observant for your own good." He shook his head and stretched.

"That's also the seventh time you've stretched in the past hour and a half. If you're tired, go take a nap on the couch." She pointed in the direction of the living room.

"That would be irresponsible and it'd leave you alone." She raised an eyebrow. "Which is exactly what you want…"

"Look I'll be fine for a couple of hours by myself, I do know how to use a light switch and I'll wake you up if my aunt comes home if you're still sleeping then we can pretend it never happened. You're no use to me half asleep anyways." She shrugged. "But whatever it's your choice."

"Fine." He got up and went to the archway leading to the living room; he flicked on the light and then turned back to her. "Why is your couch so huge? There are only two of you!"

"I don't know, I think she was hoping I'd become a social butterfly and have some friends over every night." She shrugged then went back to the books sitting on the table. She heard him walk into the room and flick off the light.

* * *

><p>Warren stirred at the smell of food being cooked; he rubbed his eyes and wondered where he was for a moment. That's when he remembered that he was at the Powers' place and he was supposed to be protecting Serenity. He sat up quickly and then rushed through the archway that led to the kitchen. There she was, comet white hair pulled back into a ponytail wearing a tank top and shorts, chopping up the remains of a cucumber. He sighed then muttered, "I was worried for nothing." He walked to the counter where she was working and sat down at the island. "What are you doing?"<p>

She jumped, "Don't scare the person with the knife!" She scolded him as she pulled out her headphones.

"I was standing right there, anyways what are you doing?" He placed his chin on his hand and watched her lazily.

"I am making dinner, what's it look like?" She rolled her eyes and put down the knife.

"And Principal Powers is coming home when?"

"She called about half an hour ago saying that she'd be home in about two hours, think you can stick it out that long?" She turned her back to him to deal with what she had cooking on the stove.

"I think so. So tell me do you always do the cooking?" He asked.

She didn't turn around, "Most nights, but sometimes we go out to dinner. Auntie's great at a lot of things…but cooking is not one of them."

"And how long have you been cooking?" He asked partly out of interest and partly because he wanted to know if she had any skill.

"I've been helping out in the kitchen since I was seven, I started taking over the job of cooking when I was ten." She shrugged.

"So it's not going to kill me when I eat it then?"

He saw the tension run through her, making it obvious that he had hit a sensitive spot. That's when she grabbed a small plate out of the cupboard then in the matter of moments it was sitting in front of him with just a small bit of food. She smiled, though it was forced, "Try it for yourself."

"What is it?"

"Shut up and eat it." She crossed her arms.

He stabbed it with his fork and stuck it in his mouth. She waited until he swallowed then raised an eyebrow. "That was…" He didn't want to admit it, he wouldn't…he couldn't.

"Say it."

"Good." He sighed, once again he had lost to her, but this was the last time.

She turned around, "Thank you."

* * *

><p>"How do you think their doing?" Will asked from his spot at the table where his homework sat almost completed.<p>

Layla smiled, "Well we haven't gotten any angry phone calls from Warren yet."

"That's true; we're going to have to apologize to him tomorrow. I feel bad for leaving her alone with him, while we sit here doing nothing."

"We weren't simply doing nothing; we got our homework done…amongst other things. Oh right! I told her we'd be there by seven."

"That's so…early. Why?" His head smacked against his text book.

* * *

><p>Serenity and Warren ate in silence then ended up on opposite ends of the couch. Time slowly ticked by as they waited for Lynda to come home. He kept thinking about what she had said to Layla on the bus. He wasn't sure how he had heard it, he was pretty sure that Layla had almost missed it, but somehow it rang out loudly in his ears. <em>"<em>_Not all of them are going to become heroes.__"_He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Did she really mean that? Did she know that some of them were going to become villains? Did she think he was going to become a villain himself? He had warred with his father's villain side of him since his power awakened. Before the incident at last year's homecoming, everyone had expected that he would become a villain himself and part of him agreed with them. "You're brooding." She told him.

"I am not brooding, I'm thinking. There's a difference." He glared at her.

"What about? You don't think about something to the point of brooding, unless it's something important." She turned to look at him fully.

"Nothing."

She rolled her eyes, "I know it may be surprising to hear but I've been known to give some good advice on occasion."

He let out a frustrated groan, it's not like he was going to be able to not worry about it and then he'd probably end up going to the hippie for advice, so why was Serenity any different? "Fine, it's about what you said on the bus today, to Layla about some of our classmates not all going down the hero track."

"Well they can't all go and be good…we'd have too many heroes and not enough villains. The balance between good and evil would break if that happened. We don't want that remember? Or else a lot of heroes and sidekicks would be out of a job…but that's not what you're worried about is it?" She looked at him again.

"So then how do you know? Is it from their blood, is it part of them naturally or does it just happen?" He didn't want her to know that he was asking about this for himself, to ease his own worries.

She laughed softly though it didn't reach her eyes, "It's not blood that makes a hero… well a hero…although I guess it's necessary to actually get your powers. But what makes a hero a hero is what's in their heart. The will to protect others has to be stronger than other feelings; the ability to love is also a part of it." She stood up then walked to the window, just as his mother had the night before. "However…many things can cause a person go from good to evil. Jealousy, hate, rivalry, revenge and the want to become the strongest then be acknowledged for it." She looked at him and smiled, "You, Warren Peace, are no villain."

"Aren't I?" He laughed coldly.

She went back to looking out the window and she suddenly looked older. Something in her eyes made him shudder involuntarily, the only other time he had seen that look was in his mother's eyes as she talked about his father. Serenity's voice brought him out of his thoughts "If you were really a villain at heart then you wouldn't have intervened last night and you wouldn't be sitting on my couch right now acting as one of my 'guards'." The word left a bitter taste in her mouth. She looked back at him, "Helen raised you well."

He thought about it. There was a time when the idea of helping someone was ridiculous to him; it wasn't until just last year that heroism became appealing. Just another thing that was Stronghold's doing no doubt. That's when he heard the sound of a car pull into the driveway. "Who's that?" He asked as he got off the couch and walked over to the window.

"It's my aunt, I guess this means you're free to go now."

"Yeah I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He turned to head out of the room.

She watched as he walked under the arch "Warren…" He stopped and turned slightly. "Tell your mom that'd I'd be honored to have dinner with her." He nodded then disappeared into the darkness of the house. She heard the front door open then the quick words exchanged by Warren and Lynda. She still hadn't decided what she was going to say to her aunt as she walked into the room. This was the first time her Aunt was leaving, she had always brought her along on one of her conferences' so what was so different about this one?

"Serenity?" Lynda asked worried about the way she was staring out the window.

"What's this conference about?" Serenity turned.

"Oh you know just stuff about how to keep the girls off the polls and the boys off the pipe, typical principal stuff." Lynda lied.

Serenity smiled though it was forced, another thing her aunt was bad at was lying. "I see…well it's late I should get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow morning." She quickly kissed her on her cheek then headed to her room.

The next day:

Layla knocked on the front door of the Powers' house while Will stifled a yawn. She smiled widely as Lynda opened the door. "Good morning Principal Powers! We're here to pick up Serenity."

"Please outside of school don't call me principal call me Lynda or Ms. Powers." Lynda opened the door, "Come in, she's still in the basement which is at the end of the hall way."

"Thanks Ms. Powers." Layla grabbed Will's hand and dragged him to the basement door. The two then headed down the stairs to overly brightened room. They had to shield their eyes from the brightness of it, white on white with white florescent lighting; there wasn't a shadow in sight. When Layla thought she could handle the brightness of the room she opened her eyes, she saw Serenity laying on the blue practice mat. "Serenity?" She called worried as she dashed to the girl's side. "Are you alright?"

Serenity opened an eye then closed it again, "I'm fine, just resting…what time is it?"

"Seven." Will told her.

"Alright." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I'll go get ready now." She got up then ran up both flights of stairs and into the shower.

The rest of the morning flew by as a blur, Serenity had said goodbye to Lynda then rushed out the door with Layla and Will. The three got on the bus and were greeted by Warren. Their morning classes also went by quickly and now it was lunch. Serenity had finally managed to find an empty table in the cafeteria, her head was buzzing, as it always seemed to do at school. She was determined to eat her lunch in peace and not be bothered by her guards all of whom she could not find which suited her just fine.

Layla would have spent her entire lunch trying to find Serenity if Will hadn't been complaining about how hungry he was. They were standing in the lineup when they heard Zach, Ethan and Magenta call them from the back of the line. She quickly whispered to Will, "What are we going to tell them?"

"About what?" He raised an eyebrow.

She glared, "Serenity, we're on a secret mission remember? No one's supposed to know about the fact that we're protecting her."

"Then we pretend that we're friends with her, after all you did sit with her on the bus yesterday. Everyone will just assume that we became introduced at some point during school." The two paid for their food then waited for their friends.

"Okay fine, I'd believe that but the question is will everyone else?" She looked at him.

"Let's hope so." The other three caught up with them and they began to search for a table with enough empty seats for the five of them. They spotted Warren sitting at a table reading his latest novel. He looked up at their approach then looked forward where a tuft of comet white hair was in the crowd.

Will followed his brief gaze then saw what he saw. He gently elbowed Layla subtly, so that the others didn't notice, then he glanced in the direction where Serenity sat. Layla smiled, "I'll be back shortly, guys, save my spot." She placed her tray down then walked to where their charge sat and sat down across from her, "Hi Serenity."

"Just because you're supposed to be guarding me doesn't mean that this is okay." Serenity looked up from her sandwich.

"It doesn't matter if it's okay; we're going to keep an eye on you whether you like it or not. Now come eat with us." Layla told her, normally she wasn't this forceful but she was dealing with someone just as stubborn as Warren.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I'll see to it that all of your cucumbers in the fridge disappear." Layla threatened.

"You wouldn't." Serenity's eyes narrowed.

Layla crossed her arms, "Wouldn't I?"

"Ugh! Fine! But I'm not going to like it…" They got up and Serenity looked at her, "So could you possibly multiply the amount of cucumbers in the fridge if you wanted to?"

"You're not supposed to use your powers outside of school but yes I could…probably." Layla shrugged as they arrived at the table. "Everyone this is Serenity." She stuck on her best smile.

Serenity seemed to shrink away then whispered "Hi."

Zach smiled and stuck out his hand, "I'm Zach." They shook.

"I'm Magenta." She didn't smiled and they didn't shake hands.

"I'm Ethan; it's a pleasure to meet you." He grinned widely and they shook hands.

Layla pulled her over to a chair and sat her down then sat in between her and Will. "There," She whispered, "that wasn't so bad was it?"

Only a couple of minutes later were their conversations interrupted. "Well then who's this?" A blond woman stood beside Warren. Her eyes were ice blue and she wore a light blue shirt and a white skirt. "Warren?"

"Eve…" Layla pitched in, "This is Serenity. Serenity this is Warren's girlfriend Evelynn Winters."

"Hi." The two shook hands and suddenly the area was filled with tension. Serenity pulled away quickly, 'I'm starting to think that she doesn't like me…but wait…Winters. Why does that sound familiar? Wait…Oh my…'


	5. Serenity VS Warren

(A/N: Yay chapter five =D Now free to be enjoyed. And for those who were wondering about Serenity's reaction to Evelynn Winters, it's because of Evelynn's mother was Barron Battle's ex-girlfriend.)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Five: Serenity VS Warren

Round one:

Warren opened his eyes to a ceiling that wasn't his. He sat up and noticed that a blanket pooled at his waist, this wasn't what was strange the strange thing was the color of it, he didn't own anything pink and neither did his mother. That's when the night's events came rushing back. He, Stronghold, the Hippie and Serenity had been studying…then the rest of it was blank. 'I must have passed out last night.' It had been only two days since Principal Powers had left but between working, the constant task of keeping Serenity out of trouble and attending school…it was no wonder that he was exhausted. He heard noises coming from the basement and decided to check it out.

Quietly he walked down the stairs then into the overly brightened room. He saw Serenity and Layla stretching on the mats. "Morning Warren." Layla looked at him and smiled.

"Hey, where's Stronghold? And what time is it?" Warren asked as he leaned on the doorway.

"Will made it home last night and it's now…" Serenity looked at her watch. "6:30. See I told you the run wasn't long enough…now we have too much time to kill." She looked back at Layla.

"I'm sorry but I have enough trouble with three miles." Layla told her. Serenity got up then pulled Layla up with her. Warren nearly laughed as Layla rubbed her sore muscles. "How do you do this every morning?" She asked as her muscles throbbed.

"Years of practice." Serenity told her as she re-stretched her arm muscles. "Well, now I'm bored…Warren you want to spar?"

He raised an eyebrow, "What? Are you serious?"

"I asked didn't I?" She raised an eyebrow then smirked, "What you don't want to? Or perhaps you're scared of losing to a girl."

"You know what? I'll bite…" He pulled off his shirt causing both girls to blush, "Just don't cry when I win."

"Then I'll judge, no powers and low blows." Layla told them with her hands covering her eyes.

"Layla, sweetie…you can't judge like that." Serenity told her, after the first minute of seeing Warren topless, she was fine. She figured that Layla was more worried about her dignity and keeping her relationship with Will in tack. Where Will was strong, brave and sensible; Warren was dangerous, rash and hot both literally and figuratively. She rolled her eyes no guy was worth losing your cool for.

Layla took her hands down, "Alright ready?" They both nodded, "Go!"

Serenity went into a low crouch and Warren mirrored her action. The two began circling each other, neither one of them blinking. Layla couldn't blink, afraid that she might miss who won. Warren twitched first and Serenity smirked, that small twitch gave her the advantage she needed. He moved first and she easily dodged; her foot caught his ankle and pulled his leg out from under him. Layla blinked and the next thing she knew was Serenity pinning Warren to the ground, her knee in his back and her hands holding his arms still.

"Say it." Serenity whispered.

"No." He growled.

She smiled, "Warren, dear, I can keep this up all morning…so either admit you got your butt handed to you by a girl or we sit like this and miss school your choice."

"You'll tire out eventually." He grinned.

"Maybe…maybe not. You don't know that for sure…so just hurry up and say it."

"No!"

"Say it! Man up and say you lost to a girl then I'll let go." She tugged on his arms pulling him up slightly.

"Damn it! Swear you won't tell Stronghold!"

"I won't tell Will. I just want to hear you admit you lost to a girl, Layla would you tell Will?" Her voice seemed bored but her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"I won't tell Will so just let him go!" Layla told her now worried about Warren's body more so than his state of mind. "You're hurting him!"

"Fine, I admit it! I lost to a girl!" He told Serenity.

She smiled playfully and fully released him, "Well that was fun! Shower time!"

Her legs were swept out from beneath her and Warren pinned her arms to her sides as he leaned over her. "So tell me Serenity what is the first rule of unarmed combat?"

"Never underestimate your opponent…"

"And what did you do?" He grinned.

She smirked, "I underestimated my opponent, however because of this I am now pinned to the floor by one of the hottest guys in school when he's not wearing his shirt." She looked at the space between them, "It's not that bad of a view actually." Her smirk got bigger as Layla's ears turned crimson and his face turned a passionate scarlet. He pulled away and sat with his legs crossed which gave her enough room to get up. She turned with the biggest grin then waved as she walked out, "Don't forget to turn out the lights."

They watched as she walked up the stairs then Layla let out a huge sigh but she then felt the room heat up. She looked at Warren, "Warren?" She took a step back afraid that he might accidentally burn her.

"She's toying with me!" His eyes blazed with rage and now she understood why the room was heating up.

Serenity Wins! Flirtatious Victory!

Round Two:

They were sitting in gym watching Save the Citizen, after Lash and Speed were over thrown last year, Will and Warren were currently standing as the undefeated champions. Serenity sat with Layla, and the others, looking absolutely bored. "Do they do this often?" She asked.

"At least once a month, it all depends on Coach Boomer's mood." Layla shrugged. The timer flicked to five seconds left, "5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

"Ramirez! Hamilton! You have failed to prevent the heroes from saving their citizens. Peace, Stronghold do you want to be heroes or villains?"

The two looked at each other than nodded; they had talked about this in the locker room. "Villains." Will told him.

"Oh really? Well there's a surprise." Coach Boomer looked generally surprised.

Layla looked just as confused, "What are they planning? They're always heroes."

"So who do you want to beat now?" Coach Boomer asked the two standing in the arena.

Warren grinned, "We pick Williams and Powers."

The two girls looked at each other, their expressions mirroring the others. "Coach!" Serenity looked at Coach Boomer, "I don't believe that's entirely fair, I have no offensive powers and Layla doesn't believe in using her powers for violence!"

"Whoever said this was fair?" He looked at her, "Go get ready."

Serenity seemed absolutely livid as they got the protective clothing on, "This is all Warrens doing he's just upset about this morning!"

"I can't do this! I can't harm another being!" Layla looked at her panic covering her face.

Serenity's eyes glowed with rage, "You won't have to not if I get my hands on Warren…do you have anything plant related on you right now?"

"Do I look like I have anything plant related on me right now?" Layla gasped, she was nearing a panic attack.

Serenity sighed, "Don't panic…" She stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a small line of honeysuckle.

"I gave that to you this morning, why is that in your gym pocket?" Layla asked as she took the honeysuckle.

"Let's go get them, just don't use that until I say so." Serenity grinned and the two walked into the gym.

"This is going to be too easy." Will nearly laughed.

Warren rolled his eyes, "Don't get too cocky Stronghold, they've got more potential together than they do alone."

"Flower child, Powers, you're the heroes. You have three minutes to immobilize your opponents and save the citizen. Ready? Set! Battle!" Coach Boomer called.

"I'll save the citizen; you concentrate on stopping Will and Warren's movements." Serenity whispered. Warren threw a fireball at them, causing Serenity to push Layla down and out of the way. "Forget what I just said…I'll keep Warren busy long enough for you stop Stronghold and save the citizen." The two girls rolled away from each other as Warren threw another fireball. "Warren! What are you trying to do? Ruin Layla's pretty face? Jerk!" She cart wheeled out of the way of another fireball. 'That's right come and get me. Ignore Layla…'

The timer continued to tick off seconds, and with only a minute left on the clock and neither one of the hero team was down for the count, Will and Warren were getting desperate. 'There's no way I'm losing to her again today.' Warren thought then called out. "Stronghold!"

"Right!" Will called then looked at Layla apologetically. Warren's hands lifted above his head as fire built in between them and Will jumped in the air, aiming his fist at the ground.

'Oh crud…this isn't going to end well." Serenity ran to Layla's side, trying to get her as far away as she possibly could, inside the arena. Panic began to fill her and something different bubbled to the surface. It came out like a burst of energy and when Will's hand met the ground nothing happened.

Will grabbed his hand, "AH! That hurt!"

Warren looked at Will, "What do you mean 'that hurt'?" He looked at his own hands and noticed that his fire was put out, he flicked his wrist but there was nothing, not even a puff of smoke. "What the?"

Layla looked at Serenity with a raised eyebrow. "Now?"

"Now!"

Layla began manipulating the tiny bit of honeysuckle, and it started growing, slowly. Serenity took her hand and lent her some power. The honeysuckle grew and it branched off into three different vines two of which went for Will and Warren, pulling them together then tying them together tightly. The third went for the citizen and pulled it down as the clock hit zero.

"Time! He's alive! Heroes win!" Coach Boomer called. "Hothead, Stronghold…hit the showers."

Layla quickly deactivated the honeysuckle and went to go help Will. Serenity went to go help Warren up but he slapped away her hand, glaring until she stepped back. He flicked his wrist and still nothing happened, he shot a glance at Serenity. "It's you isn't it? You're the reason that I can't call my flame!"

"I don't know what you're talking about Warren. I haven't done anything; I'm just a power booster, nothing more." The buzzing that had eased over the past few days came with a vengeance. "Son of a-" She clutched her head and doubled over. Warren caught her in a flash, all anger forgotten. "Let go of me." She attempted to struggle out of his arms but it was too late. The second wave hit her more violently then the first, it sent shocks throughout her body. Her stomach squeezed and tightened then suddenly, as it all came up, she was glad she had eaten a light lunch.

"Are you alright?" Warren asked as he rubbed her back.

Layla squeaked, "Serenity! Somebody get the nurse! Hold on Serenity, help's on it's way."

"On my clean floor!" Coach Boomer called as he headed towards the group.

Serenity laughed though it was choked, "Sorry Coach." Black spots began to cover her vision and the last thing she heard was her name being called by Layla and Will.

Layla and Serenity Win! Girl Power!

Round Three: Postponed.

"Is she going to be alright?" Layla asked Nurse Spex as she looked at the unconscious Serenity.

"Well let's take a look at her chest." Nurse Spex took off her glasses and blinked twice, but nothing happened. A look of confusion crossed her face, "Well now that's strange…"

Warren crossed his arms, "Don't worry it's not just you that it's affecting."

Nurse Spex frowned as she put her glasses back on, "What did you say her last name was?"

"Powers why?" Will asked.

"And her mother's name?"

"Hope." Warren told her, "She was Principal Powers' little sister."

"Ah this makes sense then…She's activated a dormant power, that's why she got sick. The same thing happened to her mother when her powers first appeared. Hope was a late bloomer, but it seems that she doesn't have that problem, just new powers."

"So…you're telling us that she's not only a power booster, but a portable detention room?" Will asked.

"I do believe so." They heard a groan from the sleeping Serenity.

She rubbed her eyes, 'I hate this' was the first coherent thought she formed. "Serenity!" Layla yelled.

"We're glad you're awake, now I need you to tell me how many fingers I'm holding up." Nurse Spex told her and placed three fingers at a safe distance from her face.

Serenity moved her hands enough to open her eyes, "Three." Her voice was horse and sore.

"Alright good, now drink this." She was handed a glass of what looked like water and she sat up enough to drink it then laid back down. "It'll take you a while to control your new powers, but it shouldn't interfere too much."

Serenity's eyes snapped open, "What new power?" Panic filled her again at the rate she was going she'd be more of a freak then she already was.

"You, dear girl, can now neutralize powers around you." Nurse Spex told her.

Serenity groaned again, "Can we go home now?"

"Rest for a bit more, Ron's driving the other students home, but he said he'd come back and pick us up." Will told her.

"You shouldn't abuse his niceness because of me." Serenity sat up then looked at Nurse Spex, "What did you give me? I feel great now."

"Nothing much."

"Okay…?" She swung her legs over the bed and got up that's when she noticed she was still in the Save the Citizen outfit. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm going to go get changed and apologize to Coach Boomer. Thank you for your assistance."

It took them an hour to get back to Serenity's house, Will and Layla hung around and Warren left to go talk to his mother. Serenity was in the kitchen cooking dinner, she looked out the window. Her body felt fine but she felt terrible, everyone saw what happened at the gym. She could just imagine the stares she was going to get tomorrow, there would be more stares then when Layla pulled her to their table on the first real day of guard duty. She sighed then looked at the back door. Her legs almost propelled her to the door but she quickly shut off the off the stove and placed lids on the pots. She quietly slipped out of the door and began running down the block. She ran until she reached the yellow house with black tiles. "Mom, I need answers please."

Round Three:

Warren looked out of his bedroom window and saw a person staring at the house across the street, the thing that bothered him the most was the comet white hair of that person. His phone went off and he answered pulling away from the window. "Warren here."

"Warren! Serenity's missing!" Layla nearly screamed.

"Okay calm down, I think I've found her, I'll call you in a bit." He told her with a voice that was almost a growl. He walked down the stairs and when Helen opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, she decided not to, figuring that her son was in a bad enough mood. "I'll be back in a bit."

He walked to the house across the street to where Serenity was standing. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Well I was on a run and I ended up here. It happens." She didn't turn around.

"Layla's worried sick about you! Did you ever think about how much trouble we're going through to keep you safe?" He nearly shouted.

"Then stop bothering! No one asked you to 'protect' me anyways!" She turned on her heel to glare at him despite the tears that had spilled from her eyes.

"If I remember correctly it was your aunt that asked us to keep you safe!" Her tears did nothing to stop him but made him feel uneasy.

"Well no one's asking you to stay!" She was yelling at him now.

He growled, "Your mother did! The last thing she told me was to keep you and my mother safe!"

"What?" She stopped yelling and her voice became no more than a whisper.

"I remembered something from when we were younger, when Hope left she told me to take care of you and my mom and now that I remember I don't intend on breaking that promise."

"This isn't fair…you remember more about my mom then I do. It's not fair…it's just not fair."

"You were young it's understandable that you don't remember much about her." He told her as a new wave of tears streamed out of her eyes.

"Why did she have to leave? Why did she go off and get herself killed? How could she just leave me?" She didn't know why she was telling him all of this. He was Warren Peace for cry out loud! He didn't listen to the sob stories of little girls, no he was supposed cold and indifferent to everyone and everything. He wasn't supposed to hold her as she cried, he was supposed to laugh and call her weak. She wanted, no…needed, him to pick a fight, that's how she was able to stay strong and pretend like nothing was wrong. She had lost to him, most days she hated losing, but this was not one of them.

Warren Wins! Gentlemanly Victory!

Helen started watching from the window after she heard the shouting outside. She had seen Warren and Serenity arguing in the driveway of Hope's old house. She smiled as Warren took the girl into his arms, something she knew he would never have done over a year ago. She only pulled away from the window when the phone rang. "Hello? Peace Residence."

"Hey Mrs. Peace have you heard from Warren? He's not answering my calls." Layla asked.

Helen laughed softly, "Don't worry he's outside with Serenity, they're both safe."

Layla sighed, "Oh thank God."

"Hey Layla…" Helen smiled as she thought of an interesting idea.

"Yeah?"

"How about Serenity stays here tonight? She'll be perfectly safe here and I think a change of pace might be good for her. Plus she promised to have dinner with me."

"Are you sure that's okay? Won't Warren freak out?"

"He can deal with it." Both of them laughed and then Helen spoke again, "Don't worry I'll handle Warren."

"Wait do you want me to pack some clothes for her?" Layla asked.

"Would you? That'd be great; I'll get Warren to get them in a bit." The two said their goodbyes then Helen headed back to the window. She looked at the empty driveway across the street; she couldn't have been on the phone that long. "Where did they go?" She frowned then shrugged. "I guess I'll go pick up Serenity's clothes."


	6. Their Parents

(A/N: YAY! Chapter Six! Enjoy =D)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Six: Their Parents

Serenity flicked on the lights to the basement stairs as she led Warren to the place she called home. Warren was the first to speak, "This place was always empty, I just assumed it was haunted and that's why no one wanted to buy it. I mean there were times I thought I saw something in the windows but I guess I know that answer now."

"My aunt, I mean Lynda, didn't want to sell it. There are far too many memories here for it to be sold." She opened the door to the section of the basement where the last remaining essence of her mother remained.

The lights inside of the room turned on automatically and he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "What is this place?" He looked at the newspaper clippings that hung on the wall, the colored letters hung over the clippings separating them into different topics, or in this case different heroes and villains.

"My mother liked doing collages; I guess she used it as way of getting rid of stress." Serenity shrugged and pulled a book off of the pile then sat down on the couch. She opened the book and curled up.

He looked at her, "What are you reading?"

"My mother's diary entries, she took a daily log of interesting things that happened since her days at Sky High. There are a lot of strange things in here, like how often Steve Stronghold and your dad fought at school."

He raised an eyebrow then sat down beside her, "What are you currently reading about?"

"Well, I think in the last chapter Helen had just told her she was pregnant…" He looked at her, a clear sign that he wanted her to continue she flipped the pages back then started reading.

"_Today, Helen told me she was pregnant. I began to wonder how Barron would react, he doesn__'__t know yet. Things have yet to settle down between him and the Commander; Barron is trying his best not to snap. Even though he__'__d never admit it but Helen and I can see that he__'__s jealous of the amount attention that Steve__'__s getting, but Steve has yet to settle down; he has less to lose then Barron and I. Even Kyle is taking it easy from the missions; finally ready to get married at least I hope he is. But that__'__s not important; Helen__'__s worried about how she__'__ll continue her Hero work while worrying about keeping the baby safe. I told her I__'__d baby-sit if she needed it. She simply laughed and asked me what I knew about babies. I swear she enjoys picking on me._" Serenity laughed, "My mother was such a space case, it goes on to say about how my father came home and dinner wasn't made. Ooh, this seems like an interesting recipe, I might have to copy that down."

"All of that was written on a couple of pages?" Warren asked he watched her turn the page.

"You've clearly never seen her handwriting. It's sloppy and a complete and utter mess. There are far too many words scribbled out, and plus writing recipes takes space." She sighed, "Do you want me to continue?"

"Alright."

"_Today, Barron came to see me. He told me that Helen finally confessed to her being pregnant. He told me that he was worried about what his child would think about him being second best to Steve Stronghold. I worry about what he__'__s planning, Barron always over thinks things. I told him that no matter what he did or who he was that his child would love him no matter what. I remember seeing a glint in his eyes when I told him; I fear that he might be planning something. I tried to ask Helen to talk to him about this but she was off in her own little world, as she usually got when Barron__…_" Serenity coughed as her face turned bright red, "Right skipping on ahead…" Her eyes skimmed the pages for semblance of something remotely safe to read in the company of Warren. "_I spent most of the day worrying about what Barron was thinking; did I just set something that isn__'__t meant to be unleashed upon this world?_"

"Keep going." Warren told her, he wanted-needed to hear the rest.

"Are you sure about this? You may find out something that you don't want to hear." Serenity asked and he quickly nodded. "_Helen told me that Barron came home last night bleeding pretty badly. He told her that he got into another spat with the Commander and that it came to blows. But I fear that it is more than that__…__has Barron Battle finally done what we all feared? Has he become the villain we all feared he__'__d become? I fear for him. I want to tell Helen, to tell her what might happen, but I don__'__t want to upset her__…__If what I think is actually happening, then I must protect her and her child. If anything happens with Barron then I__'__ll protect her, from him, from Steve, from everyone__…_"

"Don't stop." Warren grabbed Serenity's hand and she let go of the book to give his a little squeeze.

She nodded, "_Barron came to me in the middle of the night, I hate when he does that._" The two reading looked at each other. "How are we supposed to respond to that?"

"How should I know? Keep going."

"_I asked him what he was planning. Even as I did, the nauseating feeling that had nearly overwhelmed me over the past two days came back. He wouldn__'__t tell me what he was thinking; just that it__'__d all be over as soon Steve was gone. I swore I saw a shadow of something darker in his eyes and it scared me. For the first time in years I was afraid of him, so I told him the truth that if he ever hurt Helen I would never forgive him and possibly curse him until the end of his life. He swore that he would never hurt her, not intentionally and if he ever did it was my job to take her away from him because he could no longer be trusted__…__Today I read an article, about a villain calling out the Commander telling him to come out and fight. Somewhere inside the very deepest parts of my mind and heart I knew that the villain in the article was Barron. I tried to tell Helen but she already knew and that it didn__'__t matter, because even though if they never officially got married she made a vow to stick with him no matter what__…_"

Serenity and Warren looked at each other, unsure of what to say until they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He got up and pulled her behind him with a fireball waiting in his hand. "Don't shoot!" Helen called from the other side of the door.

"Mom?" He asked as the door opened and she smiled.

"Mrs. Peace? How did you get down here?" Serenity asked.

Helen pulled something out of her pocket and twirled it around her finger, "I was your mother's best friend so of course I have a spare key to the house. Anyways I've gotten permission to take you under my wing for the night." The grin on her face made Warren very uneasy. "You're ours for the night."

"Um…right, where's she going to sleep? Our guest room is filled with boxes, remember?" He asked.

"She'll sleep with me, like the old days." Her smile got bigger, "That is if you're okay with it, Serenity."

"Sure, I'm never one to pass up a free meal and a warm bed." She shrugged.

"Yay!" Helen grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs.

Warren watched them go up the stairs, "Tonight's going to be long, and dangerous."

"Warren hurry up!" Helen called from the top of the stairwell.

* * *

><p>The three of them still sat at the dinner table, talking about everything and anything important that had happened in the past ten years. "So tell me, Serenity, do have any plans for homecoming?" Helen asked.<p>

"You mean besides avoiding it like the plague?" Serenity internally cringed; she hated the idea of having to go to some dance.

Helen frowned and Warren looked at her, "You mean you're not going?" Helen asked.

"I probably have no choice in the matter, Layla wants to go, which means Will's going and if I'm correct he already has a date." She gestured to Warren. "So I'm probably going to be forced into going, even though I have nothing to wear and no date. I might just end up going stag with Ethan…"

"What do you mean you don't have anything to wear? Don't you own any dresses at all?" Serenity shook her head. "Now that just won't do, Warren when's your next day off?"

"I have Sunday off, why?" He raised an eyebrow, worried about what she could be thinking.

"Then we're going shopping! We'll invite Layla and Magenta, and you're coming too." The excitement in Helen's eyes worried him.

"Why am I going?" His eyebrows shot up.

She grinned, "To keep us safe of course and to make sure no guys try to hit on us while we try to find Serenity a dress."

"Then ask Will to go along!" He shot a glare at Serenity who seemed to be close to breaking out in laughter.

"You don't want to come…?" Helen's bottom lip jutted out.

He groaned, "Fine I'll go just stop looking like a kicked puppy."

Helen glanced at the clock, "Oh my, look at the time. We should get to bed. Come on Serenity, I'll show you to our room." She grabbed Serenity's hand and began leading her up the stairs.

"But I don't have anything to wear for tonight or tomorrow."

"Did I forget to tell you? Layla and I packed some clothes for you. They're in a duffle bag on the bed." Helen opened the door to her bedroom and then led her inside, "Bathrooms right there."

"Thank you." Serenity walked into the bathroom.

When Serenity walked back out Helen seemed to already be ready for bed, though she quickly rushed into the bathroom to finish up. Serenity sat on the bed then flicked the lamp on; she sat in the glow of it and waited for Helen to come out. She began thinking about everything that had happened in the past few days. She looked at the bathroom door and wondered why Helen was being so nice. She wondered why everything seemed to be changing over such a short period of time.

"Serenity?" Helen waved a hand in front of her unseeing eyes causing her to jump. "Are you alright?" There was a stirring behind Helen's eyes, 'She looks so much like her mother when she does that…'

"Sorry what?" Serenity snapped out of reverie. "Were you saying something?"

Helen smiled, "Are you ready?" Serenity nodded and turned to turn off the lamp. Helen's hand grabbed her wrist, "Don't turn it off." The confusion on her face was apparent causing Helen to smile sadly. "Just as the darkness took your mother, it took my best friend."

"Are you scared?" Serenity asked her voice was a whisper.

Helen nodded, "Warren doesn't even know…it'll be our little secret." She crawled into the other side of the bed.

Serenity lay down and started staring at the ceiling; the smell of the bed was nostalgic. It was like she had been here before. "Mrs. Peace?" She whispered into the partially lit room.

"What's wrong?"

"What was my mom like?" Serenity rolled over to look at Helen.

The older woman laughed softly, "Well…do you know why we called her a ray of hope?"

"Because of her power and because her name was Hope?"

"Her power, I'll admit it, was part of it, but she shined. She came out of nowhere and took Sky High by surprise; everyone's powers went haywire for a week. We became fast friends and shortly all the Heroes at the school knew her name, and then when Barron and Steve would start fighting, she'd insist on breaking it up dragging me along with her. However, she had her sensible side to her too; she always only chose battles she could win. My best memory of her is when Barron was just taken into custody, Warren was just two back then. I snapped, there's honestly no other way to describe it, the first couple of days were and still are a blur. I don't remember if we ate, or if Hope even knew what was happening, all I remember is this raging anger inside of me, so one night I left, and went to Steve's place…"

_Helen__'__s telekinesis broke the door down, and she walked inside of the house. __"__Come out now Steve!__"__ She called into the darkness. _

_"__What is it Helen?__"__ Steve asked from the stairwell._

_Her hand moved and he was flung into the living room crashing into the fireplace. __"__How could you?__"_

_He tried to stand up but was slammed back against the fireplace with just a flick of her wrist. __"__It was either me or him, Helen!__"_

_She didn__'__t notice the tears flowing from her eyes, __"__He has a family! A son!__"_

_"__Then he shouldn__'__t have become a villain!__"_

_"__Helen don__'__t do this!__"__ Josie told her from the doorway. _

_With a quick glance at her Helen sent chills up her spine, __"__Don__'__t interfere, I don__'__t want to hurt you.__"__ Helen__'__s gaze quickly turned back to Steve, who was still pinned to the fireplace._

_The next thing they all knew was that Helen was being turned around and then they heard a loud smack against the silence between them. __"__What do you think you__'__re doing?__"__ Hope demanded._

_"__Hope!__"__ Steve called, relieved that pressure on his chest was removed._

_"__Shut up Steve.__"__ She forced Helen to look at her. __"__What are you doing? What about Warren?__"_

_"__It doesn__'__t matter! If Barron__'__s not there! It__'__s not worth it!__"__ Helen screamed._

_Hope slapped her again, __"__GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF RIGHT NOW HELEN PEACE!__"__ She watched as Helen blinked and saw the acknowledgement in her eyes. __"__You still have something worth protecting; his name is Warren Michael Peace. He is Barron__'__s and your son, he is two and his birthday is coming up soon. Do you remember that? Do you remember that your son is turning three in August? Even if Barron is gone, he__'__s still there and he needs you.__"_

_Helen blinked again, this time there was recognition in her eyes and a fresh set of tears __came pouring from them. __"__Oh God, what have I done? What happened? Where__'__s Warren, oh God is he okay?__"_

_"__That__'__s my girl. He__'__s safe, he__'__s with Kyle.__"__ Hope looked at Steve and Josie, __"__Tell no one and that can be your compensation for separating a father and son. Come on.__"__ She took Helen__'__s hand and led her out the door._

Helen looked at Serenity who was now fast asleep, "Sleep well."

Just after Helen closed her eyes, the look on Serenity's face became pained and confused. The dream was something she hadn't even thought about since she was just a girl.

_A young Serenity looked up from where she played with a young Warren. Something felt wrong, her heart squeezed and tears filled her eyes. __'__Mommy?__'__ She got up and ran to the front door, she pulled the door handle until it finally budged enough for her to open it. __"__Serenity?__"__ Warren called after her as she ran out to the door, when he noticed that the door was open and she was already across the street he called out for his mother._

_Serenity pulled __out her chain necklace and stuck the key that hung on it into the keyhole. She nearly fell over while she tried to unlock it, even on her tiptoes she could barely reach it. She heard the click and she pulled the door open. She ran to the end of the hallway and pulled the basement door open. She slowly took the stairs one at a time, careful not to fall, just as her mother had taught her. She pushed the door to her mother's special room open._

_The room lit up automatically and she frantically looked around, __"__Mommy?__"__ She called into the empty room, __"__Mommy? Where are you?__"_

_"__Serenity? There you are! I was worried about you!__"__ Helen walked into the room and knelt beside her. __"__Serenity? What__'__s wrong?__"_

_"__Mommy__'__s gone__…"__ Serenity looked at her, tears streaming down her face._

_"__Gone? What do you mean gone?__"__ Helen asked, worried that her intuition was right when Hope walked out of her door a few days ago. _

_"__I can__'__t feel her anymore, her presence is gone.__"__ The look in Serenity__'__s eyes was much older than it should have been. _

_Helen pulled the small girl into her arms, __"__I__'__m sorry__…__I__'__m so sorry.__"__ Her grip tightened as Serenity__'__s tiny hands clutched onto her shirt._

A distinct buzzing woke Serenity up; Helen was trying to stretch past Serenity without waking her up. Serenity looked at what her hands were clutching, and she noticed the fabric of Helen's pajama top. She gasped in surprise and pulled away instantly, "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry."

"Oh you're awake…" Helen sat up and turned off the alarm. "Good morning."

"Oh how embarrassing," Serenity's hands covered her face to hide the blush covering it. "I'm sorry, I was having a dream and it happened unconsciously."

"Don't worry about it; I'm glad to see something's don't change. So what were you dreaming about?" Helen sat up with her legs crossed.

"I…I don't remember…Strange, it had such a strong feeling to it too…it was sad." Serenity's Caribbean blue eyes darkened as she remembered the feeling of emptiness the dream left.

There was a knock on the door, "Mom, Serenity if you both don't get ready soon we're all going to be late." Warren told them.

"Warren you're such a buzz killer!" Serenity called.

Helen laughed, "He's right though, we should be getting ready. Go shower and I'll go make some breakfast." She slipped out of bed and walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Serenity walked into the kitchen, her duffle bag and backpack thrown over both of her shoulders. Her light green shirt covered the edge of her long white skirt which Helen knew that if she were to sit down it'd pool around her. "Is it alright?" Helen asked, "We couldn't decide what you'd look better in, white or green, so we had to compromise."<p>

"Yeah, it's good." Her eyes met with Warren's, she noticed his hair was still damp. 'Don't look…don't look…why are your eyes drifting? I just told you not to look…oh hey he's not wearing a shirt yet.'

"Like what you see Serenity?" He grinned; he had caught her staring and completely called her on it too.

"Just enjoying the scenery, don't get too excited, Warren." She smiled as Helen sat her down.

"Who'd get excited over a little girl staring at them?" He rolled his eyes.

She glared and then looked at Helen as she tilted her head, "Why do I feel like I'm in the detention room?"

"It's her newly obtained power; Will called her a portable detention room. Serenity you know you're not supposed to use your power outside of school." He grinned.

"I wouldn't if I knew how to control it, but I don't. It's not my fault." She looked away from him and she crossed her arms.

"Weren't you two getting along last night? What happened?" Helen asked as she handed Serenity her breakfast.

"Don't you have to get ready for work?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine, fine. Play nicely you two." She kissed his head and then ruffled Serenity's hair.

* * *

><p>The tension between them was thick, they barely heard Helen's call as she left. "You done?" Warren asked after he had run upstairs to finished getting dressed and grabbed his bag.<p>

"Yeah." Serenity put her dishes in the sink, just as she had watched him do before.

"Then let's go the bus will be here shortly." He led her out of the door, locking it behind them.

"You know it's strange that one of the coolest guys in school doesn't have a car." She told him.

"Why would I need a car? I have a motorcycle." He looked at her as if it was obvious.

"Of course you do." She rolled her eyes. "So why don't you take it to school?"

"Because gas is expensive and it can't fly."

"Oh that makes sense. The parts for flying would be expensive too." She nodded understanding his problem.

The bus pulled up and Ron opened the door, "Morning. Hey what are you two doing at the same stop?"

"I passed out at my old house which, as it turns out, is right across the street from his." She shrugged. "It happens."

"Alright." Ron signaled for them to move back. He drove to the next stop where Will and Layla were waiting. "Morning…this is a strange morning schedule."

Serenity looked back at Warren and the two shared a grin, "So what happened last night without supervision there to keep things PG." She asked.

Layla face turned bright scarlet, "Nothing happened; why would anything have happened? He just stayed over in case of an emergency."

"There's only one emergency I can think of that would be important enough to keep Will Stronghold in the house alone. It normally involves no clothes, sweat stained sheets, and pleading moans into a darkened room. Or perhaps the lights were left on." Serenity told them. The blushes on their faces indicated that something she had said was right. "I was right wasn't I?" Her brow furrowed, "I hope you kept it in the guest bedroom and that nothing happened on the couch."

"Why do you have to be so vulgar first thing in the morning?" Layla asked as she sat down beside her.

"Because I read too many romance novels that's why. It's quite comedic actually."

"Serenity…you are absolutely prime evil." Will told her.

"Yeah I know." She grinned.


	7. A Girl and Her Weekend

(A/N: Chapter seven! Yay, though it's short and weak. Enjoy. Reviews are eternally loved and welcome. =D)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Seven: A Girl and Her Weekend

Serenity sat on floor of the Stronghold residence, while the others dominated the couches, Will and Layla had the loveseat while Zach, Magenta and Ethan sat on the other couch, when the Commander walked into the archway he spoke, "Will can I speak with you?"

"Sure dad, what is it?" Will stood.

"Perhaps Layla should hear this too." The frown on Steve's face deepened.

"Sure," She looked at Serenity, "we'll be right back, don't worry okay?" She walked into the kitchen with Will and his father.

"What's wrong, dad? You're starting to worry me."

"I'm just going to come out and say it, we lost contact with Lynda." If the frown on Steve's face could have deepened, it would have.

"What? When?" Will exclaimed. "And when were you planning to tell us?"

"We lost contact with her around noon; we had to make sure that it wasn't temporary. She hasn't contacted us yet, but your mother's still trying."

"So what do we have to do?" Layla asked.

"You two have to act like nothing's wrong. Josie and I are heading out to where Lynda was last seen tomorrow."

"Then take me with you!" Will told him.

"No you need to stay here and keep Serenity safe; he must not get his hands on her power." Steve grabbed his shoulders, "Do you understand son?"

"I understand, just do me a favor and be careful." Will sighed.

Steve nodded and as the two teens decided to head back into living room when he spoke, "By the way, what are all of you doing here? Don't you normally spend your evenings at Serenity's?"

"She ran out of food and since here is closer to the Paper Lantern, we decided to come here first." Will told him.

"But don't you hate Chinese food?"

"But the others don't and the vote was five to one, plus Warren's working tonight. We might as well give him an update on what's happening."

"Oh okay then can you ask him to give this to his mother?" Steve pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Will.

"Will do." They turned again and the power went out. They saw Zach glowing from where they stood. "Zach doesn't glow that much."

Layla was standing the archway before Will and Steve even thought of reacting. "Is everyone alright?"

"Layla look I'm a neon light bulb." Zach told her.

"Okay you're obviously alright. Magenta? Ethan? Serenity? Wait, where is she?"

"Latching onto my boyfriend." Magenta told her.

Serenity went back to her spot which was just inside of Zach's new glow zone. "Sorry, I jumped…"

The lights went back on, "Ethan you can solidify now." Will told him.

Ethan solidified, "Sorry."

"That was strange." Magenta told them, "That's the fifth power outage this week."

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence, or possibly some trouble at the power plant." Serenity told them.

"What else would it be?" Ethan asked.

"Hey dad, have you met Serenity?" Will asked, trying to avoid this specific topic.

"No I haven't." Steve told him, though they knew it was a lie.

"Mr. Stronghold it's a pleasure." They shook hands.

"Oh yeah, Dad, please try not to need to power up within a mile radius area of her, she's still not used to controlling her new power yet."

"Sorry about that." Serenity frowned as she sat back down.

Layla looked at Will, "Are you guys hungry? I'm famished."

Magenta, Zach and Ethan shared a looked, "What's gotten into you two?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Will asked feigning innocence.

"Never mind." She looked at him suspiciously.

Layla silently apologized for lying to them then her stomach ruined it by growling, "I wasn't joking when I asked if we were hungry."

They all looked at each other than shrugged. "Let's go eat." Zach told them.

* * *

><p>Warren walked out into the restaurant and the first thing he saw was a head of comet white hair. 'Oh come on…they wouldn't come here.' Due to them being short on staff tonight he was stuck waiting tables instead of usual busboy duties. He walked over to one of larger tables, "Hi, my name's…" He looked up and noticed six smiling faces staring at him, two of whom were trying not to laugh, "Didn't I get rid of you guys?"<p>

"Well hello to you too Warren." Serenity told him.

Layla smiled, "Sorry Warren, we ran out of food at Serenity's and when she found out you worked at a restaurant she demanded we eat here."

'Of course she did…' One of the waitresses walked by and he smiled, "So have you decided on your orders or should I give you some more time."

Serenity and Magenta stifled some more laughter, "Though I suppose I like this professional look of ours, it has potential." Serenity told him. "Anyways what time are you off at?"

"Why?" He looked generally confused by this.

"Layla and I might end up walking home alone, in the darkened empty streets where anything or anyone could attack us." She leaned on her hand.

"9:30." He sighed, "Now may I take your order."

When 9:30 rolled around Will, Layla and Serenity were waiting outside as the sun set. "It's going to be a close call." Serenity shuddered involuntarily.

"So those power outages are probably him…" Will sighed.

She shot a glance at him, "Don't say that! Please don't say that!"

"Look, I know this is personal for you but we have to look at all the options." He looked at her.

"When did you get so mature?" Warren asked as he opened the door. "And what are you doing here? I thought it was just supposed to be us three."

"I am a gentleman, I wasn't about to leave them alone." Will stuck his chin up in some semblance of pride.

"Sorry, Will, but a gentleman does not make a lady wait and from what I hear, you made Layla wait since you were in first grade." Serenity smiled.

Will blushed as Warren laughed, "She's got you there Stronghold."

"That's that and this is this! Oh yeah Warren here." Will handed him the piece of paper his father gave him. "My dad asked that you give this to your mom."

"Oh yeah she's going to appreciate that." Warren rolled his eyes and slipped the paper into his back pocket.

"Just like she'd appreciate you dating your dad's ex-girlfriend's daughter." Serenity rolled her eyes as they started walking.

"What are you talking about?" He looked at her.

"You mean you don't know?" She shook her head in shame. "Ivy Winters dated your father in high school. I think the exact words my mother used to describe her was 'ice witch'."

"How do you…oh right your mother's diaries." He sighed.

"Dude that's kind of creepy, think about it, she could be your half-sister." Will told him in an ominous voice.

"Why would you say that? Now that's just one more thing I need to worry about." Warren shot a glare at him.

"That's impossible, nothing to worry about. Think about it, Barron broke up with Ivy just after they graduated so if Evelynn was their illegitimate child, she'd have to be older wouldn't she?" Serenity shrugged, as they all looked at her. "Anyways, this topic is all fine and dandy but could we possibly hurry up and get under some nice bright, comforting and man-made light since the sun's setting?"

Warren fell behind Layla and Will to walk beside her, "What's the hurry? It's a wonderful evening. Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark." He smirked.

She looked away and a scowl formed on her face, if he hadn't been watching her face carefully, he would have missed the moment that fear flickered on and then instantly off her face. "Of course I'm not! How old do you think I am?"

"I was just kidding but by that reaction…was I right?" There was no hint of joking in his voice, just more curiosity.

"Does it matter?"

"Not at all, I was just wondering."

Her watch started beeping and she pressed it off. "Oh great…" She muttered. "Next thing we know is that the power will go out."

"Here." He offered her his hand, "In case the power does go out, that way we know where you are."

"I can't decide whether you're a jerk or incredibly nice." She muttered as she took his hand.

"Can't I be both?"

"It'd be less confusing if you one or the other."

"Okay I got to turn here." Will told them.

"Alright, be safe." Layla told him. He quickly kissed her then turned to run down the street to his house.

"Bye Will!" Serenity called waving then looked at the other two, "Race you home."

"Serenity?" Layla raised an eyebrow glad that she was wearing jeans instead of the skirt she planned to wear.

"You're on." Warren told her.

"Warren?" Layla looked at him with wide eyes.

"Ready, set go!" Serenity called as she began to run down the street.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Warren called after her as he began chasing after her.

"HEY! Wait for me!" Layla called after the both of them. She had never thought that she'd be chasing after Serenity Powers and Warren Peace.

Warren caught up with Serenity halfway to her house, "Come on you can run faster than that." He teased.

"I was just waiting for you to catch up. See you there." She picked up the pace using the motivation of beating him as a reason to keep her legs going. She was tired, not that she'd ever admit it there was something about knowing that there was someone out there that was after her power that tired her out. She thought about it as she ran, how useful she could be to that man, how not only could her power boosting ability could increase his power tenfold but now her new ability to neutralize powers made her and whoever got her power very dangerous.

She turned the corner to the street her house rested on and pushed herself to her limits for the final leg of their race. Warren smirked from where he was behind her; he picked up speed and ran past her. He quickly ran up the stairs and touched the door. "I do believe I win."

"I've decided…you're a jerk." She leaned over gripping her thighs waiting for the ache in her legs to stop.

Layla ran up, her face was red from exertion and her breath was labored. "That was uncalled for. What were you two thinking what if something happened?"

They looked at each other, "We would have handled it." He shrugged.

She looked at them, "Alright then." She straightened up then looked at Serenity, "I need to talk to Warren, could you wait inside for a bit."

Serenity frowned, "Fine." She unlocked the door and walked inside, "Bye Warren; see you on Sunday."

"I had forgotten about that." He sighed as he walked down the stairs.

"Forgotten about what? No never mind that right now, there's something you need to know. Will's parents lost contact with Principal Powers."

"What? When? Show's how useful those two are." He rolled his eyes.

"Warren! This is serious! This means that Serenity is now in more danger then ever!"

"What are you so worried about? She still has us; we're the people who saved Sky High. We're capable of protecting one little girl…oh man…I'm starting to sound like Stronghold."

"Will wouldn't have called her little. Anyways, be careful. Now I've got to go make sure she's not passed out on the couch." She brushed past him and up the stairs.

"Wait Layla." She paused and looked at him. "What are you doing on Sunday?"

"The same thing we've been doing for the past week." She rolled her eyes.

"Right…well my mother wants to take Serenity shopping for a dress for homecoming, she wanted to invite you and Magenta…and my asking you has nothing to do with the fact that I do not want to spend my day off shopping with just my mother and Serenity."

"Yeah I'll come and then save you the trouble of asking Maj by asking her myself. So tell your mom I'll be there." She waved and then stepped inside.

Elsewhere:

"It doesn't matter what you do to me! You will never have her!" Lynda called as Brian paced back and forth.

He stopped and smiled at her, "That just proves how little you know about her, once she finds out that I have you in my grasp she'll come right to me."

"She won't! She's smarter than that; to fall into such a weak trap is something she wouldn't do!"

"Why wouldn't she? You're the only family she has left."

"The Commander and Jetstream won't let you get away with this!" She threatened.

He laughed, "But they won't matter if I have the girl, I'll be invincible."

She laughed bitterly, "Oh please. Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a jealous little boy who lost his girlfriend to his brother." The back of his hand hit her face and left a bright red mark on her cheek. She started laughing, "You're weak Brian; you always have been."

Saturday Evening: Powers' house

Magenta sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, despite there being enough room for all of them on the couch. "I'm surprised that Principal Powers has such a large couch."

"Yeah…I don't understand it either." Serenity shrugged.

"I'm also surprised that Warren wanted to go out shopping." Magenta raised an eyebrow.

Serenity and Layla shook their heads, "It wasn't Warren that wanted to go shopping, the only thing I can imagine Warren wanting a girls advice for is what to buy Evelynn for Christmas or something along those line. This shopping trip was all thought of by his mother on a whim at the dinner table when I told her that I didn't have a dress to wear for homecoming." Serenity explained.

"What were you doing at Warren's house besides having dinner?"

"Turns out our mothers were best friends and my old house is right across the street from his." She paused, "His mother's such a sweetie I'm still trying to figure out where he went wrong."

There was something in her voice that made Magenta and Layla looked at each other, "Serenity, you don't possibly like Warren do you?" Layla asked.

"What? Are you seriously asking me if I like Warren Peace? Ladies, you're both crazy, there is no possible way for me to like him. That's wrong and gross and wrong." Serenity looked at the both of them like they were insane.

"Well he is good looking." Magenta told her, "He's not even my type and I've noticed."

"And I know you've checked him out on more than one occasion." Layla looked at Serenity.

"You're both crazy…I'm going to sleep now." She got off the couch and then headed up the stairs while ignoring the burn on her cheeks.


	8. Sunday

(A/N: Did somebody ask for a shopping trip? Well if you did: Here it is! Chapter eight is now free to enjoy! Yay!)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Eight: Sunday

Serenity pulled her hair back as she stared into the mirror. She had just spent the past hour blow drying it and it was beginning to curl. There was a knock on her door, "Serenity come on Mrs. Peace and Warren are here." Layla called.

"Alright I'm coming." She glanced at the mirror and noticed the smile on her face. She shook her head, 'Just because this is the first time you're leaving the house with people just to do something other than go grocery shopping doesn't mean that you can let your guard down. They aren't your friends, just your guards.' Her smile disappeared and she walked out of her room then closed the door. "Let's go."

"What's wrong?" Layla asked as they walked down the stairs to where Magenta and Warren were waiting.

"Why would anything be wrong?" They saw Warren angrily staring at his phone. "What's his problem?"

"He's upset that Will's busy and he's the only guy coming with us." Magenta told her.

"What about Ethan? Or Zach?" Serenity asked.

"They decided to procrastinate on the project due tomorrow." Layla shook her head.

"Are you three ready to go?" Warren asked.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Serenity pulled her bag off the counter and rushed the others out the door.

Helen waved from the car and the girls piled into the back, mostly because they were afraid of Warren burning them in his bad mood. Helen poked Warren's cheek, "Cheer up and I'll buy you some new boots."

"I don't need new boots." He grumbled.

"Your mother's right, you should be more cheerful. You're going on a date with three very pretty ladies and me. It can't be that bad." Serenity told him.

It hit him suddenly, what if Evelynn was at the mall? She'd find out that he went shopping with four different girls and one of them wasn't her. She'd find out that she wasn't even invited, she didn't know about his part in protecting Serenity. Of course this was all his mother's idea, so he could use that as an excuse. He looked at his hands, and then groaned as his face fell into them.

"Does he do that often?" Serenity asked.

"Only when he's over thinking." Helen told her as she parked the car into the mall parking lot. "Which is most of the time now a days."

They got out of the car and Serenity was shocked, "It's huge! I never expected it to be so…huge."

"You mean you've never been to a mall before?" Magenta asked.

"Not that I remember. I mean we've driven past it like a billion times but we've never needed to enter it. Plus it's safer at home and there aren't a bunch of strange people running around." Serenity shrugged.

"You really were a sheltered child." Warren told her. "Stronghold owes me money."

"Will doesn't gamble." Layla looked at him.

"It's only a gamble on his part, for me it's an investment." He shrugged.

Helen smiled and nearly pushed Serenity to the doors, "Let's put that aside for now, right now we are here to buy Serenity a dress…and shoes."

"Oh so that's why you planned all of this, you wanted new shoes." He looked at her with disbelief. "And you brought me along so you didn't have to carry the bags didn't you?"

"Well you're here now, so there's no point in worrying about it." She looked back at him and smiled causing him to sigh.

* * *

><p>Sometime in between the third or fourth shoe store in the mall, Warren had lost count as the girls looked at new shoes; he decided to try to contact Stronghold again, before he remembered how much he used to love helping his mom decide what to wear. "I'm telling you Warren I can't. I'm helping my parents out."<p>

"And I'm telling you that I'm going insane." He groaned, "What exactly will it take to get you down here?"

He heard Will's movement and the sound of a door closing. "You have to take Serenity for the night and there is to be no embarrassing comments tomorrow when Layla and I get on the bus."

"Hey those embarrassing comments were all from Serenity and you know it. Anyways we'll take her just get your ass down here. Oh and you owe me money." He hung up before Will could say anything else.

"Warren, come on we're moving on." Helen told him as she and the others walked out of the store.

"You were in there for half an hour and you still didn't buy anything?" He asked as he walked behind them.

"We can't buy shoes if we don't have the dress first." Serenity told him. A girl walked past them and suddenly all of Serenity's senses screamed danger. She turned to look at the girl who had stopped and then the girl smiled at her. It was like looking at a mirror image of herself, only the girl's hair was black and her eyes were so dark that Serenity couldn't tell where the girl's iris stopped and pupil started.

The girl mouthed some words, and Serenity read them as "You're time is up." The girl smiled again and this time every fiber of Serenity's being was telling her to run. But it was too late; suddenly it felt like every part of her body was being torn apart. She took in a tiny gasp of air as the pain hit her and she doubled over.

The others hadn't noticed that Serenity wasn't walking with them anymore so when Layla asked her a question she only got silence. She looked back, then around, "Serenity? Where'd she go?"

"She was here just a minute ago." Warren told her. The four looked around when he spotted that familiar comet white hair of hers. "There! Who's that with her?" He went to flick wrist but was stopped by Helen. "Mom! She needs help!"

"Not your kind of help you'll draw too much attention to us. Leave this to me." Helen calmly walked over to where Serenity and the mystery girl were. As soon as she was close enough to see what the girl looked like she moved two of her fingers and the girl went flying causing her break her hold on Serenity.

"This isn't over Serenity; we will get you and your power!" She called as she blended into the shadows.

"Did you see that?" Layla asked.

"No way…" Helen gaped, "Only Brian was able to do that."

"Guys! Worry about that later!" Warren told them as he tried to get Serenity to look at him. "Are you alright?"

Even though she was shaking, her body ached and she was terrified, she smiled weakly, "I'm fine, nothing to worry about."

"Okay wait! What's going on? No more secrets and no more evading my questions." Magenta told them.

"Okay calm down Maj, we'll explain everything but right now we need to get her out of here." Layla told her.

"No!" They all looked at Serenity, "I'm fine really and what kind of sidekick would I be if one attack was able to make me run?"

"Are you sure?" Helen asked.

She smiled again, "Of course I'm sure, we've got a dress to buy right?"

* * *

><p>Serenity watched as the other three women and Warren, who was now fully swallowed by the passion of the four he was with, argued over which dress <em>she<em> was supposed to wear. "Purple!" Magenta told them, shoving a dark purple strapless dress into their newly formed circle. On the way to the store they had told her everything, about their duty to protect Serenity. When Magenta had heard this she just smirked and then quoted Mr. Boy, 'Without hero support there would be no heroes.' She had now fully accepted Serenity and was now dedicated to helping her to find a dress.

"She'd look best in white!" Helen said as she showed the delicate white gown to the group, the gown was a cross between something a Greek Goddess would wear and a prom dress, it flowed but it also had frills.

"Forest green!" Layla explained as she showed the knee length forest green dress, with a lighter green fringe on the bottom and the top.

"I'm telling you she'd look best in black." Warren told them, "I'm the guy I'd know." The long black dress that he held was something Serenity knew would flow behind her as she walked, and it had strings crossing over the back that would have otherwise been backless.

Serenity shook her head as she watched them continue to argue, at this rate they'd be here until the mall closed. That's when she noticed a dark blue dress hanging up. Luckily it was in her size and the saleswoman set up a change room for her. She easily slid the dress on and did up the strings that held it up.

Layla looked up from the group and noticed that once again Serenity was missing. "Where'd she go this time?"

"What? She's missing again?" Warren looked around.

"Calm down guys." Will told them. "She's changing."

"Will! When did you get here?" Layla asked.

"About three minutes ago, it was amusing watching you four arguing so I thought I'd stay quiet." He grinned as Warren hid the dress he was holding behind his back.

They heard Serenity cough and their heads turned towards the changing room door. "How does it look?" She was blushing; dresses were definitely not something she was used to.

Warren used the distraction to hang up the dress that he'd been holding. When he turned his jaw nearly dropped and he could feel his eyes widen. The dark blue dress she was wearing was held up by two small blue strings, his eyes drifted from her neck to the rest of her body. The dress clung to her upper body and flared outwards then pooled around her feet. He heard the faintest of laughter then her voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Like what you see Warren?"

He smirked and crossed his arms, "Just admiring the scenery."

She smiled playfully; they were repeating their conversation from Friday morning, "Just remember not to get too excited."

He snorted, "Oh please, who'd get excited over a little girl?"

She ignored him then turned to the girls, "Well what do you think? If I get the dress, then I don't have to buy shoes because I have a pair of boots that'll go perfectly with it."

Will walked over to Warren with a slightly confused look on his face and his tone a whisper, "Dude what was that about?"

"What was what about?" He asked.

Will rolled his eyes, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You and Serenity flirting. Does that happen a lot? Is it something you intend to pursue?"

"What? Of course I'm not going to pursue it, it's nothing serious. It's just how we keep ourselves from arguing." Warren defended his actions.

Will sighed, "Then look at me and tell me that you aren't mixing work and pleasure."

Warren laughed and turned, "I'm not mixing work and pleasure I am keeping a watchful eye out just in case, which is exactly what you should be doing."

"Maybe you are going crazy." Will muttered then called to Layla. "Layla, Warren and I are going to get something to eat, call me if anything happens."

"We'll meet you in the food court in about half an hour okay?" They watched as Will nearly dragged Warren out of the store for his own good.

"Men…" Serenity shrugged then was pushed in front of the mirror by Helen and Layla and suddenly her attention was brought back to the task at hand.

* * *

><p>The rest of their trip was uneventful, Serenity bought the dress, and then they got food although they nearly had to drag her past the sports store. Helen drove everyone home, despite Magenta's protests; she dropped Will and Layla off at Serenity's. She didn't care that she was leaving two teenagers unsupervised, just so long as she got to keep Serenity to herself.<p>

Serenity, Helen and Warren sat on the couch in the Peace's living room watching movies. Serenity found herself staring at Warren then whispered to Helen, "He's brooding again."

"He does that, he'll be fine." She handed Serenity the popcorn.

Warren was thinking, that much was obvious what wasn't so obvious was what was passing through his brain at that current moment. He was thinking about what Will had said earlier about his and Serenity's flirting habits. He hadn't worried until someone had said something about it, there was barely a spark between them. Although now that he thought about it, he should know firsthand how quickly a spark could turn into a full blown fire in the matter of moments. But that was something he didn't have to worry about, was it? He already had an amazing girlfriend, who he cared for a lot more then he'd ever like to admit. But there was something about the way Serenity irritated him that he couldn't get out of his mind. He snapped out of his own thoughts as the phone rang and he attempted to get up to answer it but was stopped by Helen.

"I've got it; go back to your brooding." She told him with a smile as she got up to answer it.

He frowned then called after her, "I wasn't brooding I was thinking!"

When she came back there was no trace of any emotion on her face, "I need to go out for a bit will you two be alright on your own?"

"We'll be fine mom." He told her then paused for a tiny bit as she began walking to the door. "Hey mom," She paused, "Be careful out there okay?"

"I'll try to be home before too late, remember it's still a school night so get some sleep even if I'm still not back." She smiled and waved as she walked out of the door.

"Be safe!" Serenity called after her before the door closed.

It wasn't long until Warren had to get up to switch movies. That's when he noticed the small shivers passing through Serenity. His eyebrow arched up a bit, "Are you cold?"

She looked away stubbornly, "No."

He raised his other eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

She looked at him again, "Is this your way of bragging that you aren't?"

"I don't feel the cold like a normal person does, so yes I'm not cold but that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking whether or not you're cold." He told her as he crossed his arms.

"Alright I'm cold, happy now?" She hated the way he was able to see right through her.

He smirked as he put the movie in then went to sit back on the couch, "Quite." He took her arm and pulled her towards him, leaving her with only centimeters between them.

"Warren what are you doing?" She asked as she turned a movement she quickly regretted because his face was far too close to hers.

"Aren't you the one who said she was cold?" He asked as he pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapped it around her front then used it to close the distance between them. "Here's how I see it, I'm warm you're cold so we'll even each other out."

She sighed and tried to squirm out of the situation she had gotten herself into but had no success, even if she was mostly made of muscle, he was too. Plus he had something she didn't, mass, and at the moment he was using it against her. She sighed again and stopped squirming. She'd never admit it, but his warmth was melting away the chills from her body and she was grateful for it.

They watched the movie in silence, except for the occasional snacking on popcorn. So it wasn't a surprise when Warren looked down at Serenity and noticed that she was sleeping. He turned off the movie and TV then got up. He slowly picked her up and held her still sleeping form in his arms for a minute before moving. She wasn't heavy and he liked the feeling of her in his arms.

Sometime during the trek to his room her hands had latched themselves onto his shirt. He quietly opened the door to his room and went to go put her down on the bed, but her grip on his shirt was strong. He lightly tugged on her fingers, once more to see if she'd let go. With a sigh he flicked on the lamp then crawled in beside her, if Evelynn ever found out about this she'd kill him. But as he looked at Serenity he began wondering what it was that she could dream about that could make her clench onto his shirt, it was that thought that haunted his mind as he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Serenity stirred, she was hot, she didn't know why and she didn't know where she was. Her eyes opened and she realized why she was warmer than normal, there was a person sleeping beside her. Her eyes closed again for a second then opened them widely this time, all traces of sleep vanished from her. She quickly pulled away and moved to the edge where the light stopped. She looked at the person who she was sleeping next to and her mind screamed, 'WHY AM I SLEEPING IN THE SAME BED AS WARREN PEACE?'<p>

Warren woke up the moment Serenity had pulled away from him, not because she had made any noise but because of the warmth she had taken with her. He opened his eyes and saw her sitting there in shock, this was obviously the first time she had woken up to a man. "What are you doing?" He asked his tone lazy with sleep.

"That's my question!" She whispered but it didn't impede on the tension that was radiating off of her, "What are we doing in sleeping in the same bed? Where are we? What happened?"

"You passed out while we were watching movies, we're still at my house currently we're in my room, and we're sleeping in the same bed because someone didn't want to let go of my shirt." The look in his eyes told her that he just wanted to go back to bed and not play twenty questions. "Now are you going to get back over here so we can sleep or just sit there like a rock and wait for morning?"

"Warren I don't think this is appropriate, I mean think about it, you have a girlfriend and I'm the girl you're supposed to be protecting…this is-" He stopped her by pulling her over to him then his arm settled around her waist as he laid face down in his pillows. She laid face up staring at the ceiling, "Warren you're squishing me." She told him.

He leaned on his elbows and looked at her, "Then are you going to go back to sleep without complaining or shall we sleep like this because it doesn't really matter to me."

She squirmed then sighed, "Fine now can you get off of me?"

He turned to his side and she curled up beside him. He smiled and murmured, "There now that wasn't so hard." She mumbled something in response but he didn't hear it.

* * *

><p>Helen knocked on Warren's bedroom door; it was so strange for her son not to be up before her. "Warren if you don't hurry you're going to miss your bus."<p>

Warren sat up quickly and rushed to the door before she could realize that he had spent the night sleeping with Serenity in his arms. He opened the door marginally, "Morning." He smiled.

"Good morning. Are you feeling alright? You're never up after me." She looked worried.

"Everything's fine, I just forgot to set my alarm last night that's all. So stop worrying already." He put on his best smile and hoped it reached his eyes enough to fool her.

"Okay, I have to leave early today so I'll see you after school." She turned to leave then paused, "Oh Warren, did Serenity go home? I can't find her anywhere."

"Uh yeah, she wasn't feeling well so I drove her home." He hated lying to his mother, but this was one secret he wanted to keep from her.

"Oh…poor dear, I hope she's alright." She looked at her watch, "Okay I've got to go, be safe and good and have fun." She rushed down the stairs.

He called after her, "Bye mom!" Then he turned back to the girl laying on his bed, "So how long are you going to pretend you're sleeping?

Serenity placed one of his pillows over her head, "I don't want to go to school today."

"It's not a matter of whether you want to or not, it's a matter of you have to." He walked over to the bed but she just curled under the blankets even more. "Alright fine then, I'm going for a shower," He leaned over to where he knew her ear would be, "you're welcome to join me, if you want." He practically felt the heat radiating off her face in embarrassment, and he left the room knowing that she'd get up after that one.

Serenity sat up after he left her alone, her face burning with embarrassment. "Stupid Warren you shouldn't joke about that." She muttered to herself as her heart pounded in her ears. She heard the bathroom door close and waited to hear the click for the lock but didn't. Her heart sped up and her blush turned a deep scarlet, 'He wasn't serious was he?' She got out of bed and then wrote a small note to Warren saying she forgot something at home and needed to grab it before school. Then she ran, down the stairwell, stopping only to grab her duffle bag from where it was left by the kitchen counter then she snuck out. She ran the entire way home without stopping to think or when her legs began to ache from the speed she was running at. She unlocked the door and then went straight to the kitchen so she could gather herself before either Layla or Will could see her. That's when she saw it the small piece of parchment paper, folded in half. She picked it up.

"_To my dearest niece,_

_I have your aunt in my custody, and am holding her captive until you willingly hand over your power to me. If you want her back in one piece then I suggest you do what you__'__re told. When you__'__re ready to talk you know what to do.__"_

She bit back the scream that was building in her throat; he had been in her house! He had been in her house! That's when it hit her; he had her Aunt captive all because of her. Then she heard a familiar voice behind her, "Serenity, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Warren's?" Layla asked.

Serenity turned and smiled as she clenched the piece of paper behind her back. "I just forgot some stuff I needed for school, don't mind me. Is the shower free?"

"Um yeah? Are you sure everything's alright? Did something happen?" Layla asked as she saw right past her fake smile.

"Alright then, I'm going to go bathe and then I'll meet you at the bus stop." She ran upstairs and tried to keep herself from thinking about what was currently happening. The life of a teenager was never easy, but the life of a teenager with superpowers that everyone wanted was like a permanent rollercoaster ride, one that never ended and one that she could never get off.


	9. The Week Before Homecoming

(A/N: YAY Chapter nine! Egad! This chapter is long! This chapter also starts when Warren invited Serenity into the shower. =D Enjoy!)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners.

Chapter Nine: The Week Before Homecoming

Monday:

"Alright fine then, I'm going for a shower." Warren whispered into where he knew Serenity's ear would be, "you're welcome to join me, if you want." He smirked as he felt heat rise off her face then turned to leave letting the door stay open behind him. He walked into the bathroom and even left the door unlocked. He smiled to himself as he undressed he wanted to see what she'd do next.

His shower was short, there was always one problem with having a higher than average body temperature, there was never enough hot water. He looked at the still unlocked door and now that his mind was cleared he began to question his motives. He had just invited a girl, who he wasn't dating, to take a shower with him. He heard Will's voice inside his head, "_Tell me that you aren__'__t mixing work and pleasure.__"_

He looked at the mirror, 'Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you're not mixing business and pleasure.' He used his towel to wipe the fog from the mirror and looked at his reflection. "I'm not mixing business and pleasure." He watched as his reflection's eyebrow rose as he realized something, "But I wouldn't have said something like that unless I meant it even half asleep those are lines I wouldn't cross. I'm smarter than that." 'Come on Warren one little girl isn't worth getting frustrated over!' He pulled himself away from the mirror then dried himself off, then pulled on his jeans. "Now to go laugh it off and call her foolish for thinking I wasn't joking."

He walked out the bathroom then noticed his door was still open; he walked in and noticed it was empty. He looked around for any sign of Serenity but there was nothing. He walked down the stairs; he checked the living room then the dining room and finally the kitchen. There was a small piece of paper stuck on the fridge he pulled it off and read the small handwriting. 'I forgot something at home, heading back to get it. See you on the bus, Serenity.' The paper caught on fire and he glared at nothing, "She's going to make this difficult isn't she? Well two can play that game."

* * *

><p>Serenity ran to bus stop just as Ron was pulling up, Will and Layla watched as she turned the final corner. "Um…Will you might want to put your arm out." Layla warned him.<p>

He did as she told him but still looked at her, "Why?"

"Safe!" Serenity called as she crashed into his arm, "Oomph! Thanks Will." She straightened herself out and then brushed herself off.

"Did you really just run all the way from the house?" Layla asked still worried about earlier that morning.

"I called safe didn't I? Home run for Powers." She told them as she got onto the bus. "Morning Ron."

"Morning. Guard duty again?" He asked Layla and Will.

Layla nodded, "Yeah." She crashed into Serenity. "Why'd you stop?"

Serenity and Warren locked eyes and she couldn't help but freeze, if anyone was going to be the death of her it'd be Warren Peace. She hated the fact that one glance from him still made her heart speed up. 'What am I? A maiden in love?' She cringed internally then turned to Layla and Will who were looking at her as if she'd gone crazy, "Sorry, I think I'll sit up front today."

"Are you really alright?" Layla asked.

"It's nothing, really. So don't worry, I just need a change of pace that's all." She sat down in the seat closest to where she was standing.

Will and Layla shared a glance as they headed to the back of the bus where Warren sat. "What happened between you two?" She asked Warren as she and Will sat down together.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Warren told them.

Will looked at him, "You went too far didn't you?"

"Went too far with what?" Layla asked as she looked between the two boys.

Warren's face fell into his hands and he groaned, "Maybe…I don't know."

"Warren!" Will used his best scolding voice, "She's still just a girl! Go apologize!"

"What are you two talking about?" Layla asked.

Ron stopped the bus and Will looked at Warren, "Now's you're best chance."

"Right." Warren got up but was quickly deterred when someone sat down beside Serenity. More specifically a guy, who she seemed to actually interested in talking to.

Layla and Will felt the temperature rise around them; they looked at each other than at Warren. "Gah! Warren calm down!" Layla told him. "Lighting the bus on fire isn't a good idea!"

Will looked over at Serenity, who didn't seem to notice was what was going in the back as she talked to what he assumed was another freshmen from her sidekick class. Then he looked back at Warren, 'What's got you so irritated?'

* * *

><p>Serenity was relieved that the person who sat down next to her wasn't Warren. She looked at the boy who sat down beside her and nearly hugged him she had missed him over the weekend, but she kept herself composed. "Morning Jason."<p>

"Morning how was your weekend?" He asked as he carefully pulled her braid out of the way before shifting in his seat to look at her.

"Ugh, don't ask. But how was yours?" She smiled.

"You know, just a typical boring weekend. Umm…so tell me…" He was playing with her braid as he looked away from her, "Do you have any plans for-"

His sentence was cut off by another voice behind them, "Morning Serenity how was your weekend?" She didn't even need to look back to see who it was, the heat radiating off of his body was enough of a hint.

She turned to glare at him, "What is it Warren?"

"I was wondering what happened this-" She placed her hand over his mouth.

"What were you saying Jason?" She smiled even as she felt her hand burning on his flesh.

"I'll tell you later." He looked at her braid again then held it up. "So what's with your insanely long hair? If you don't mind me asking, that is. If you keep growing it out, we're going to have to start calling you Rapunzel."

She sat back down, removing her hand from Warren's mouth. "My mother liked it long…so I'm keeping it that way, I don't want to betray her. The moment I cut my hair is the moment I use my powers for evil." She ran her hands over the braid as her eyes got a faraway look in them.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up something like that!" Jason told her, there was nothing he wanted more then to wipe that look from her eyes and he shot a glare at Warren who snorted at his apology.

She smiled at Jason but caught the look in Warren's eyes. There was something in them that made her heart race and made her mind scream 'He's dangerous!' She quickly stopped looking at the both of them and opted to look out the window instead. 'He's probably angry that I left without saying anything. Perhaps I should give him some time to calm down.' And so she did, she ended up running around the school building twice just to avoid crossing his path. She had eaten lunch outside instead of in the cafeteria but by the time end of the day she was exhausted and glad it was going to just be her and Layla for the night.

Tuesday:

Serenity woke up exhausted, she had dreamt about warm inviting arms holding her and warm lips caressing hers but when she looked into her suitor's eyes all she saw was the same look she had seen in Warren's eyes on the bus. She woke up with a fright; she pulled a pillow in front of her face and screamed. It was muffled enough that Layla didn't come barging into her room so when she was certain that Layla hadn't heard her she pulled the piece of parchment out from her pillowcase. She felt tears well in her eyes, "Am I so weak that I can't help you, auntie?"

Layla knocked then opened the door, "Morning Serenity it's time-Oh you're up. Is everything alright?" She noticed the tears that rested on Serenity's eyelashes.

She was thankful that the pillow on her lap blocked Layla's view of her hands as she slipped the paper inside the pillow case. "It's nothing, just a dream." She got out of bed, "You ready for our run?"

"Well about that, you slept in." Layla laughed.

Serenity looked back and forth between Layla and her clock, which was telling her it was seven o'clock. "Why didn't you wake me up? I'll barely have time to dry my hair!" She ran past Layla and then into the bathroom.

"I tried…but you wouldn't wake up." Layla told the empty room.

Serenity had decided on two things while she got ready. The first thing she was going to do was that she would find out what Warren's problem was and the second thing she was going to do was figure out a way to save Lynda. When she stepped onto the bus and saw Warren, all of her courage seeped out of her and turned her and her legs into jelly. She sat in the seat closest to her and stared out the window while she cursed herself for being a coward.

Warren didn't once approach Serenity on the bus, he found no need to. Today she wasn't talking so adamantly to guy who sat next her, so there was no need to interrupt their conversation. He did, however, keep an eye on the boy in case he got that stupid bashful look on his face again. Warren had obviously noticed how she had run away from him yesterday, so what was it that she seen in him yesterday that made her run away from him?

* * *

><p>By the time lunch rolled around Serenity had run away from any traces of Warren Peace she had caught. She hated herself for running away but whenever she saw him, thought it was him, or just thought of him her heart speed up and her instinct to hide kicked in. She couldn't let herself catch his gaze because she was terrified she'd start staring and not stop. She jumped when someone patted her back. She turned ready to attack whoever was behind her but when she saw the smile on Jason's face she relaxed, "You really shouldn't sneak up on me, it's not healthy."<p>

"For who you or me?" He asked innocently.

"For you."

"Ah, right. I suppose sneaking up on a person who has mastered three different types of martial arts would be foolish. Anyways I wanted to ask you something." He told her as his eyes lowered from hers and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.

"What's wrong, Jason? Are you feeling alright? Your face is red." She began to become concerned.

"I'm fine, nothing's wrong. It's just that I wanted to know if you-"

His voice was drowned out by the quiet laughter coming from behind her, "Warren what are you doing? We're at school!" Evelynn's voice caused her to turn slightly.

"Don't worry; no one's going to see." He kissed her as he led them into an empty classroom.

Serenity's eyes widened as her heart ached, 'Oh no…don't think it Serenity, you are not falling for Warren Peace…you are not-' Her heart squeezed again, 'Too late…'

"Homecoming?" Jason's voice brought her attention back to him.

"I'm sorry Jason; can I talk to you later? My mind's all over the place today." She smiled apologetically then ran past him.

She ran until she reached the buses and Ron looked at her, "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Please take me down to the ground, please." She pleaded.

Something in her voice made him nod, "Alright, where we going?"

"Anywhere, you could drop me off at the ramp just so long as it's not here." He got in and she followed.

She waited for the seatbelts to come down before she stuck her head between her legs and tried to remember how to breathe. When Ron parked the bus and let her off she ran to anywhere not stopping until it cleared her mind.

* * *

><p>Will looked out the window and he saw a tuff of comet white hair talking to Ron. 'Is that Serenity and Ron?' He watched as they got onto one of the buses and then saw Ron drive off. He stood up and rushed out of the room.<p>

"Mr. Stronghold! Where are you going?" Mr. Medulla called after him.

"Sorry Mr. Medulla." Will ran down the hall and towards the sidekick class where Layla currently resided he pulled open the door, nearly ripping it off of its hinges. "Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Boy, Layla we need to go now."

"Sorry Mr. Boy, I'll catch up on the notes later." Layla got up and pulled her bag along with her.

Ethan stood up, "Hero support move out!" Zach and Magenta gathered their stuff then the three followed Will and Layla out into the hall.

Will watched as Warren turned the corner and next thing Warren knew he was being picked off the ground, "What did you do?" Will demanded.

"What are you talking about Stronghold?" Warren glared down at him.

Will slammed him up against the wall, "Serenity is missing! What did you do?"

Layla grabbed Will's arms and tried to pull him off of Warren, "Will stop it! It's not Warren's fault."

Will let go of him; letting him drop to the floor with a thud. Magenta looked out the window, "Ron's back." She told them.

"Alright you guys talk to Ron, I'll fly around see if I can find her." Will ran out of the closest door and jumped off the ledge causing his flight instinct to take control.

* * *

><p>The search went on until late evening; Ron had dropped them off where he saw Serenity turn the corner as he pulled away. They spent the entire afternoon searching for her but to no avail. Layla decided to check the Powers' house again. This time she was assaulted by the smell of food being cooked, she walked into the kitchen and ducked down when she saw a knife being hurled at her. She looked at up and saw Serenity standing there covering her mouth. "Oh my gosh! Layla I'm sorry I didn't know it was you."<p>

"Where the hell did you go?" Layla yelled forgetting the knife completely.

Serenity walked over and pulled the knife out of wall and then looked at the many holes now in the wall where she chucked the knife at it continuously. "I went for a run." She told Layla blandly.

"Well obviously! But did you ever think of…oh I don't know calling us! We've been searching for you all afternoon!" Layla looked at her with anger plastered on her face.

"I'd recommend not needing to use your powers in the house. As it turns out I can expand my neutralizing power over the entire house." She ignored Layla's questions.

"Serenity…I want to know what happened; everything. Starting with yesterday morning."

"What's there to tell? I mean nothing out of the usual happened." Serenity lied.

"Would you quit lying to me?" Layla snapped suddenly understanding why Warren had called her irritating.

"I need to finish dinner." She walked back into the kitchen and Layla's groan fell on deaf ears.

Wednesday:

Serenity hadn't said anything to Layla since their conversation the previous night. It was now lunch and once again Serenity was nowhere to be found. Layla let out sigh as she sat down at an empty table, she saw Warren then waved to him; he and Will still weren't talking. He sat down, were there dark circles under his eyes?

"Can I talk to you?" He asked.

"Always, what's on your mind?" She smiled.

"Okay so I know this guy, and I'm not talking about Stronghold. So this guy, he has an amazing girlfriend but he continuously flirts with this other girl who just recently reappeared in his life. But recently, he's beginning to think that maybe he went too far and now she's pulling away from him but every time he sees her with another boy he gets jealous and interrupts the other boy from asking her something. And yesterday he saw her with that boy but he was with his girlfriend and couldn't interrupt the boy by simply invading their conversation. So he took it to the extreme and did something completely inappropriate for school."

"It sounds like he has feelings for her, perhaps more than he should since he has a girlfriend." She looked at him seriously. "Does she feel the way that he does?"

"I'm not sure, he didn't tell me." He shrugged, "But his actions put her in danger and that's probably the thing he regrets the most."

She smiled, "You want to know what I think?" He nodded, "To let true love remain unspoken is the quickest route to a heavy heart." She quoted what he had told her a year ago at the Paper Lantern when Will had stood her up for Gwen Grayson.

"That is deep…I should really start taking my own advice." He paused as he let the last part slip.

"Can you at least wait until after homecoming? There's only so much that Eve will be able to handle. Being dumped three days before the dance might make her snap." She warned him.

"Right…good idea." He looked up to see the others approaching the table.

"Hey guys." Layla smiled.

* * *

><p>Serenity waited until lunch was nearly over before walking into the building where she saw Jason waiting for her. "Are you alright? You missed yesterday's afternoon classes."<p>

"I'm fine, just needed to clear my head, and the only way I could think of doing that was skipping class and going for a run off school campus…not literally." She smiled though she knew it didn't reach her eyes. "So what were you saying yesterday?"

"Well I was wondering if you had-" Once again he was cut off.

"Where did you go yesterday? We were worried about you." She felt chills go up her spine as she turned and saw Warren standing there.

"That's none of your concern; anyways do you want to stop interrupting my conversations? It's rude!" She took Jason's hand and walked away, Warren simply watched as she walked away with the boy.

"She's right you know it is rude to interrupt a conversation." Evelynn stood behind him with her arms crossed.

"Just the girl I was looking for," He smiled his best smile, "You ready for class?"

'How stupid do you think I am Warren?' She sighed, "Yeah let's go."

"He's pushing his luck isn't he?" Will asked Layla as they watched Warren and Evelynn walk away.

"I'll talk to Serenity tonight, you know just to see if she'll say anything. But right now we should get to class." She placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you later."

* * *

><p>Layla watched as Serenity made dinner, she began wondering how to ask her something without getting the same closed off rejection she had yesterday. "So that friend of yours seems nice." She started casually.<p>

"Who Jason? Yeah he's a sweetie. Why?" Serenity asked as she cooked some vegetable stir-fry.

"So he's not the reason you've been upset?" Layla clenched her eyes closed; she opened one of them when she heard a laugh.

Serenity was looking at her, "What makes you think I've been upset?"

"You haven't been eating with us…" She began to list off all of the little things that had tipped her off over the past couple of days.

"Alright! Enough! I'll talk!" Serenity began explaining almost everything that had happened since Monday morning, the only thing she left out was the note she had gotten.

Thursday:

Serenity was staring at the 'Do you have a date for homecoming?' sign at the front of the school. Layla and Will watched her from where they stood by the buses. "What do you think she's going to do?" Layla asked.

"I don't know she's glaring at it, which can't be good." He told her.

Serenity did the only thing she could, she kicked it. "Stupid homecoming!" She then left in a huff.

Warren walked past Will and Layla laughing, that was one thing they should have seen coming. "See you at lunch guys."

* * *

><p>Jason looked around before approaching Serenity, there was no sign of Warren Peace anywhere. "Hey Serenity." He grinned as she looked at him, "So I heard this rumor that you kicked the sign outside…is it true?"<p>

"It's a stupid sign; it plays mean tricks on a teenage girl's emotions. It shames those of us who don't have a stinking date to homecoming." She slammed her locker door shut.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I don't have a date either." He admitted.

"I thought you had some big plan to ask out the most wonderful girl at the school." She raised an eyebrow.

His brow furrowed, "I was but something always gets in the way or she starts ignoring me in the middle of a conversation."

She hesitated as they neared the corner, did she sense someone with the ability to manipulate fire around it? "Um…you know Jason; I think I'm going to wait till the halls empty out a bit."

He paused then looked at her while a small sigh escaped his lips, "Serenity I'm just going to come out and say it." He knew that Warren had turned the corner but this time he didn't stop. "Will you be my date to the homecoming dance?"

Warren stood wide eyed as he watched the boy ask Serenity to the homecoming dance, then he watched as her face turned six different shades of red. Her eyes met his and he tried his best not to let anything show on his face. He'd be calm, cold and uncaring. 'It doesn't matter what she says you will not be affected by it.'

Serenity noticed Warren standing there and their eyes met but she saw nothing that showed any emotion towards her at all, so she looked back at Jason and smiled. "I'd be honored to."

"Oh okay…" The look of disappointment on Jason's face confused her. "Wait did you just say yes?" She nodded. "YES! SHE SAID YES!"

She blushed again as they got stares from everyone around them. "Um, Jason people are staring."

"Oh! Sorry, it's just that I've been trying to ask you all week. So I thought that maybe you knew and were just running away so you didn't have to reject me." He blushed.

She opened her mouth but Warren stepped in front of her, "Just the girl I was looking for, can we talk?" He took her wrist and began pulling her down the hallway.

"Warren! What on Earth are you doing?" She felt his hand heat up and she did her best to keep her neutralizing power over his hand so he didn't burn her. He opened a door to an empty classroom and in an instant he had her pinned to the wall. "Seriously! What the hell is wrong with you this week?" She tried her best not to look into his eyes, if her heart was going to be racing it was going to because of anger and not because she was melting in his arms.

"I could ask you the same thing!" He growled. "You've been avoiding me all week and then on Tuesday you run away, what are you a coward?"

'Yes.' She laughed bitterly, "Oh please Warren, get over yourself. I thought I told you not to get too excited, but here you are getting all riled up because of some little girl."

He used her chin to make her look at him and she practically melted in his arms. "Then do something to calm me down." His voice was whispered and she wasn't even sure she had heard him.

'Come on Serenity! Think coherent thoughts! Snap out of this! He has no control over you!' From this position she could feel the heat radiating off of his body, his face was close enough that their breath intermingled. "What are you thinking?" She asked, somehow the anger had managed to seep out of her.

"That I want you to close your eyes." She blushed and complied, but before she knew it Warren's warmth was whisked away from her. "Damn it Stronghold! What do you think you're doing?"

She opened her eyes and saw Layla and Will standing in the room. "I could ask you the same thing. Taking an innocent girl into a room with no adult supervision, what exactly were you thinking?" Will turned to look at Serenity, "Are you alright? He didn't do anything to you did he?"

"Of course I didn't!" Warren defended himself.

Layla took Serenity's hand, "Come on we don't want a rumor spreading about you."

When the two girls left Will looked at Warren, "So what happened to not mixing work with pleasure?"

"Shut up, Stronghold." Warren walked out of the room leaving Will standing there by himself.

* * *

><p>Warren walked into his house to see his mother cuddling a pillow with a pout on her face. "Mom, what are you doing?"<p>

"I'm lonely…I haven't seen Serenity in a while." She looked at him. "Did something happen?"

He walked over to her, "I'll tell you when I figure that out myself." He hugged her then went upstairs.

She opened her mouth, "Something did happen! Warren tell me what happened!" She followed him up the stairs, but got his door got shut in her face. "Warren!"

He opened the door a crack, "Not tonight mom, I'm tired and I have a ton of homework that I have to catch up on."

"Fine…I'll make dinner. I'll call you when it's done."

"Thank you, mom, I mean it. And as soon as I find out what's happening, you'll be the first to know." He smiled then closed the door.


	10. The 48 Hours Before Homecoming

(A/N: Chapter Ten! Yay! How exciting! Enjoy and let me know what you think =D)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners.

Chapter Ten: The 48 Hours Before Homecoming

Serenity stood in front of her planning board, everything was just about complete all she needed to do was find the opportune moment. She threw her blanket over her project when she heard a knock on the door. "It's open."

Layla opened the door, "Is everything alright? You've been in here since last night."

"Just trying to finish last night's homework. You ready to go?" She pulled her bag off of her bed.

"Yeah, Will's waiting downstairs." They left the room.

"I run away twice and he decides I can't be trusted anymore." Serenity shook her head.

"If it makes you feel any better we were really worried about you." Layla told her.

She sighed, "It doesn't, but I guess I deserve this." She looked up and her heart caught in in her throat.

"Morning." Warren looked at them.

"Sheesh why girls take so long to get ready I'll never understand." Will sighed.

"Well unlike boys we have to apply makeup, make sure our hair is perfect and that our clothes actually look good." Serenity told him as she stuck out her tongue.

"Anyways, can we go now?" Warren asked. "Missing the bus would not be our smartest idea."

"I agree." Layla told them.

Serenity was the last to leave as they talked about homecoming; she locked up and quietly listened to the conversation but wasn't really paying attention. They were talking about arrangements about how to get there. "Is that alright with you?" Warren asked her.

"What?" She looked up and was slightly confused.

"I'll pick you and Layla up and then we'll head to Stronghold's. Weren't you paying attention?" He asked as they boarded the bus.

"Um that's okay I guess." She sat down and waited for the bus to start moving again.

She waited for Jason to board the bus and blushed when she saw him. He smiled, "Morning. So I realized something, I forgot to ask you what time to pick you up."

She smiled sadly, "Is it possible for me to meet you at the dance, because it seems that my entourage insists on all of us going together."

"Oh okay," The look on his face made him look like a kicked puppy.

"Sorry, they decided it when I wasn't paying attention." She sighed.

"It's okay, you're kind of a space case so it's no wonder they're worried about you."

* * *

><p>"Nope, I still don't like him." Warren muttered as he watched the boy with Serenity.<p>

Will looked at him, "Have you ever thought that maybe you don't like him because you're jealous?"

"Even if I was jealous, which I'm not, it's not like she has any feelings for me."

Layla stifled a laugh and Will rolled his eyes, "Warren I am going to tell you something that you told me a year ago. Dude you're so stupid, she's totally into you."

Warren was dumbfounded; he ignored the feeling of his heart speeding up. He blinked and smirked, "I may be stupid but at least I haven't made out with an old lady."

"Oooh low blow." Will's brows furrowed. "That hurt."

* * *

><p>Their morning classes seemed to drag on and lunch seemed way to short. Serenity had been sitting outside basking in the warmth of the sun when she saw everyone head inside but decided to stay out a little longer because the weather was wonderful. Her eyes snapped open when she heard the lunch bell ring and the next class she had was across the school. She got up and ran to her class.<p>

Mr. Boy looked at the clock and began counting down the time until Serenity ran into the class. He heard the skidding of shoes as she ran down the hallway. She skidded past the classroom door and crashed into the bench at the end of the hall. "Thirty seconds before the second bell rings Miss Powers." He warned her. She pushed herself away from the wall; her side ached from where she had crashed. She ignored the pain as the bell went off and she dashed to the doorway making it there just as the bell stopped ringing. He clapped, "Safe. Good work."

"Benches are dangerous." She told him as she went to sit down in her desk, holding her side.

"That they are." He agreed.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked her.

She laughed though not without consequences, "Just sore, I'll be fine if I don't run into anymore benches."

"Alright class, today we're going to talk about a special government organization that was started in the late sixties. It's a group dedicated to super heroes, it's actually stationed here in Maxville. They do many hero related things such as locating missing heroes, finding out which cases are related to super villains and they also suggest who your assigned hero will be." Mr. Boy told them.

"Well considering half the heroes in our graduating class are jerks, having heroes be assigned to us is just going to be awesome." She rolled her eyes.

He looked at her, "Please let me finish."

"Sorry."

"And because we'll be talking about this specific topic I've invited the graduating hero class to join us for this afternoon." He smiled.

"That's just as bad as inviting our hero class!" Her hands met her desk as she stood up.

"Thanks a lot." Warren said as he knocked on the open door.

"I knew it." She slumped back down into her chair and her head hit her desk.

"Are you ready Mr. Boy or should we come back in a couple of minutes?" He asked ignoring the way she reacted.

"Just give a us a second, alright class put your desks to the side, try to stack them and make as much room as you can."

The class moved around and cleared as much space as possible. "I can't believe we're doing this for Warren's class, somehow this irritates me. Their classrooms are bigger so why can't we be invited to their room. It's because we're hero support that we get treated like this. This is discrimination against sidekicks!" Serenity muttered the last part loud enough for Mr. Boy and Warren to hear it. Mr. Boy looked at her like she was crazy but Warren just chuckled to himself.

"Then do something about it Powers." Warren told her.

"You know what? Maybe I will." She stacked another desk but she got a sharp pain in her side as she extended her reach and her hand left the desk before she could slide it all the way onto another desk. The desk came crashing down, threatening to fall on top of her. She covered her head and waited for it to land on her but nothing happened.

"Why didn't you tell me you're injured?" Warren growled as he held the desk at an awkward angle.

"Are you two alright?" Mr. Boy asked.

The desk floated away from Warren's hand and he looked down at her, "Are you alright?" She asked worried about how it seemed like his wrist was swelling up.

"I'm fine but you obviously aren't so we're going to the Nurse's office." He grinned then whispered low enough for only her to hear, "And don't think that I won't throw you over my shoulder."

Mr. Boy ran over to them, "Are you two alright?" He asked more frantically this time, since they hadn't responded the first time.

"I'm going to take her to the nurse's office." Warren told him.

"Warren! Are you alright?" Evelynn ran over to him. "Your wrist is swelling!"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it Eve." He smiled.

She glared at him but then just frowned, "At least let me ice it and if you are going to nurse's get it looked at, please."

"Alright." He held out his wrist to her and she made ice form around it. "Thanks." He kissed her forehead, causing her face to turn bright red. He looked to where Serenity was supposed to be standing and saw the spot was empty, "Where'd she go this time?"

"She left already." Jason told him with his arms crossed.

"I'll see you soon." Warren whispered to Eve then followed Serenity down the hall towards the nurse's office and he caught up with her halfway there.

Her hands were holding her side gingerly, "I can't believe this, I run into one bench and it feels like at least one of my ribs is broken."

"You ran into a bench?" He asked as he opened the door to the nurse's office, but it was empty.

She sat down on the bed and he sat down in one of the chairs, "Do you think she'll be back soon?" She let out a hissed breath as she shifted in her seat. 'This is dangerous; being alone with Warren Peace is very dangerous.' Her mind warned her.

"Hey." She looked at him, "Lift up your shirt."

She blushed, "Why?"

"Because I want to see what's wrong, that's why."

"No. Nurse Spex can look at it when she comes back."

"Serenity shut up and show me." He got up.

"Like hell I will!" She moved far side of the bed and pressed against the wall.

He pressed both of his hands on either side of her, "If it doesn't get looked at we won't know how bad it is."

'This is why nurses are nice old ladies; bodies don't react to them naturally.' She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I'm telling you that I'll be fine until the nurse looks at it."

The door slammed open and Will and Layla stood in the doorway, "Serenity Warren we just heard-what's going on?" Layla asked.

Warren looked at their compromising position and pulled away. "Hi guys. Did you know she ran into a bench? What a klutz."

Serenity glared at him, "Well no one asked you to jump in and save me I could have taken that desk."

Will looked at both of them, "Argue later, Nurse Spex is on her way."

"Sorry it took so long I needed to get bandages," The nurse told them as she walked in, she took in the almost melted ice on Warren's wrist and Serenity holding her side. "Oh my; what happened?"

"I kept a desk from falling on her." He pointed at the girl sitting on the bed.

Serenity shot a glare at him, "No one asked you to." She looked at Nurse Spex, "And I ran into a bench, it was painful."

"I'll look at Mr. Peace's wrist first and get this infirmary cleared out a bit." She walked over to where Warren was standing and led him to the chair he was sitting in before. "Now let's take a look and see if anything's broken." She blinked and then her eyes started glowing. She looked at Warren's wrist and when her eyes stopped glowing she looked at him and smiled. "Nothing to worry about, just keep a cold compress on it and let it rest for the night it should be fine for the dance tomorrow night." She went to the medical cabinet and pulled out a freeze pack and wrapped it around his wrist, "That should help with the swelling."

"Thanks," He got up and headed towards the door. "Come on Stronghold, Layla can handle the rest."

"Right. Are you two going to be able to get back to class?" Will asked.

"No problem." Serenity gave him a thumbs up as they left.

"Now let's see if anything's broken." Nurse Spex blinked twice and once again her eyes started glowing. She noticed a small crack on one of Serenity's rib bones, then pulled away while placing her glasses on her nose, the frown on her lips made the other two worry.

"What's wrong?" Layla asked.

"She has a hairline fracture on her third rib bone." Nurse Spex looked at Serenity, "You are going to need to get lots of rest in order for it to heal properly and I'd recommend you going to see a doctor."

"And have hospital bills for my Aunt to worry about? I'll pass." She muttered.

"Then let me tape it and put a cooling pack on it. Please lift up your shirt." The nurse told her as she went to the medical cabinet and began rummaging through it.

Serenity gingerly lifted up her shirt and cringed as she saw the black and purple bruises on her side then pain raked through her causing her to gasp and her hands let go of the fabric. "Why does it always hurt more when you look at it?" She whined. She pulled up the fabric again but this time didn't look at it. She felt Nurse Spex tape where the fracture was and then shivered as the cooling pack was applied. "Thanks."

Nurse Spex helped her down from the bed then looked at her sternly, "I'd still recommend going to see a doctor, however if you refuse to do so then I suggest buying some more tape."

"I have that at home, no need to worry. Thanks Nurse Spex." Serenity told her as she pulled Layla out of the infirmary.

"Looks like you're not going to be able to make supper tonight." Layla told her.

"Yeah I know. How bout we order pizza instead?" Serenity looked at her.

"I agree, so why exactly was Warren in your classroom?"

"We're learning about some government organization and Mr. Boy invited the senior heroes to join us. Speaking of which if I head back there now I can still catch half the lecture."

"Alright, I'll see you after class and be careful." Layla warned Serenity.

* * *

><p>The time after school passed quickly and before they knew it was the morning of the homecoming dance. Serenity lay in bed staring at the ceiling her thoughts were jumbled. She knew it was just going to be her and Layla until everyone arrived at the Stronghold residence that night for the dance. Of all her 'guards' Layla was the most likely one to go along with her idea. She reached under her bed and pulled out the piece of bristle board that she was using at a planning chart. She had everything ready all she needed was to get some time to herself and for that she'd need to get her head in the game.<p>

There was a knock on her door and Layla poked her head inside, "Hey, I made you some breakfast. What's that?"

Serenity stuck the paper face down on her bed, "Project for science class."

"Ah I see, anyways come on if you want me to do your hair I suggest we get moving because you have a lot of hair to deal with." Layla looked at her then seemed to think of something. "You're stuck aren't you?"

Serenity blushed, "Yeah…can I get some help here?"

"I think Nurse Spex was right you should see a doctor." Layla walked over and pulled on her arm pulling her up with it.

"If it gets worse I'll go but right now we've got a dance to get ready for." She swung her legs over the bed and then with Layla's help she managed to make it down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Layla was blow drying Serenity's hair, which was currently taking forever, when Serenity spoke. "So I was thinking…"<p>

"What about?"

"Well for one, that you could probably turn the heat up on the blow dryer, just wait until I'm done, please." She hesitated, "It's been almost two weeks since you've been home."

"That's right."

"But surely you want to see your parents again before you go on your big date to homecoming with Will Stronghold. Don't you miss them?"

"I do, but I have a job to do here. I call them every night to see how they are though."

Serenity's eyes suddenly became older again, "Layla…you're lucky you know still having both of your parents alive."

Layla hesitated for a second, "Serenity, what happened to your parents? If you don't mind me asking."

Serenity let out a small sigh, "My father died on mission three months before I was born from what I understand and my mother died to keep me and the future safe from Brian, though it was a failed attempt."

"Oh…" Was all Layla could manage to get past her lips.

Serenity turned to look at her then took her hands in hers holding them, "Layla every moment with your parents is precious, if my mother was still alive I'd tell her a I loved her every chance I got. So please go see yours even if it's for fifteen minutes; please go and see them." She silently pleaded that guilt tripping Layla would work.

"I can't decide if you're a genius or just really good at making people feel bad." Layla sighed.

"Can't I be both?"

"Alright, if I leave you alone for an hour before Warren comes to get us; will you be alright by yourself? That means leaving all the lights on, locking the doors and using your neutralizing power as a barrier around the house."

"I know." She silently apologized, but this was for the sake of the only family who she had left, though she knew Brian was in fact her uncle she refused to acknowledge him as such.

* * *

><p>Serenity watched from the window as Layla walked down the street as the sun set. She watched until Layla turned the corner then finally pulled away from the window with a sigh of relief. She ran up the stairs and headed to the furthest room and flicked off the lights. She continued to turn off the lights as she ran around the house leaving only living room lamp on, only pausing to put on her dress. Somehow she found it fitting to be wearing a long flowing dress when she set herself up to be kidnapped.<p>

She sat on the couch with only the lamp beside her to keep her in the light; she rolled the cordless in her hands waiting for Warren to call. He said he'd call fifteen minutes before seven that meant that the phone would be ringing any minute now, she could feel the darkness spread amongst her senses and she almost panicked but kept herself calm and collected mostly.

She jumped when the phone rang and fumbled to answer it, "Hello?" Her voice held no hint of worry in it at all.

"Hey Serenity, are you guys ready?" Warren asked still unaware that Layla wasn't there with her.

"Almost, Layla's just finishing up her hair." Serenity lied.

She heard him sigh on the other end of the phone, "Can I talk to her?"

"Now see I'd let you but if you interrupt her now she might have to start over and that'd be a pain to deal with." She smiled as the words came out with ease.

He hesitated, "Alright then, can you tell her I'll be there in fifteen minutes?"

"What's the rush? Take your time."

"Look I know you don't want to go, but you have no choice in the matter. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." He told her. "See you soon."

"Wait." She hesitated, for all she knew this could be the last time she'd hear his voice and it made her heart break.

"What is it?" He asked and his voice held a touch of quiet worry, if she hadn't been listening carefully she wouldn't have noticed. She swallowed and couldn't get the words to come out so he spoke again, "Serenity?"

She shook her head, "It's nothing, I was just wondering if you knew where my cell phone was I haven't seen it since last night, but as it turns out it was on the table." She laughed, "I should probably think about getting some glasses."

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

She smiled, "Sorry for making you worry, I'll see you soon." She hung up then called into the surrounding darkness. "That was one of my guards, the most aggressive one I have. So you have fifteen minutes to show yourself before he arrives."

* * *

><p>Warren looked at the phone in his hands, 'Something's wrong!' His instincts screamed at him. He headed to the front door in a rush and Helen looked at him.<p>

"Is something wrong? I thought you were leaving in ten minutes." She asked.

"Car keys." Was all he said as he pulled his shoes on.

She tossed them to him, "Here, Warren you're starting to scare me."

"Nothing to worry about, I'll see you later." He rushed out of the door, wishing he was wearing his combat boots instead of dress shoes.

"Be safe." She called after him.

He drove to the Powers' residence and could have seen it a block away; it was the only house on the street without any lights on at all. He flicked off his headlights as he muttered, "Why are all the lights off? Serenity's…oh no what is she planning?" He quickly, but quietly parked the car. He crouched low and stood by the living room window, he saw two figures in the barely lit up room and heard voices. He snuck to the front door and silently prayed that it was unlocked, the only one of them who knew where the spare key was beside Serenity was Layla. He turned the handle and the door opened.

* * *

><p>Serenity looked at the man cloaked in shadow. "My aunt first then I'll go with you."<p>

"How about you come with me and then I leave Lynda here for your guard to find?" He offered.

"You know I might have agreed with that if you weren't a blighting villain. I want to see my Aunt first, it's a deal breaker if she's dead." She smiled, "And wouldn't it feel better to see her face as the niece she's worked so hard to protect walks off with the man she was trying to protect me from?" She stiffened as she felt the presence of a particular man in her doorway. "Make your decision now, you've only got a few seconds."

"What happened to our fifteen minutes?"

"My guard had other plans." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine here's your aunt." He flicked his wrist and Lynda appeared in the shadows. She squirmed against the binds that surrounded her. She looked at Serenity and screamed.

Serenity knelt by Lynda and whispered, "I'm sorry auntie, but don't worry Warren's here he'll help you when I'm gone."

"Serenity!" Warren called from the archway with a fireball in his hand, he watched as the figure reached out towards her. "Don't touch her!" He threw the fireball.

She stood then put her right out and the power neutralizing barrier that came with it. When the fireball hit the barrier it was put out. "That's enough Warren, its over." She looked at him.

He flicked his wrist but nothing happened, "Serenity what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry." She told him. "Take care of Auntie for me." She took the hand of the figure and they disappeared into the darkness leaving no traces of her comet white hair anywhere.


	11. Strength

(A/N: Chapter Eleven! How exciting! All I really have to say for this chapter is Yay for Character Conflict! Enjoy =D)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Eleven: Strength

Evelynn stood with her arms crossed and tapped her foot impatiently. Warren had stood her up and that was something she'd never believe would happen. She looked around the gym as everyone but her danced; she saw no sign of Will Stronghold or Layla Williams or their sidekick friends. "What happened?" She muttered.

"Did you get stood up too?" Jason asked her, everyone knew she was Warren Peace's date and half of the school knew about his date with Serenity.

"You know it's a lot worse when someone else says it out loud." She looked at him as he handed her a glass of whatever Mr. Boy was serving tonight, she took and finished it off quickly. It was mix between cream soda and strawberry juice, she couldn't decide.

"The teachers seem to be on edge tonight, do you know why?" He asked.

"From what I understand it's our first time hosting a dance without Principal Powers being here and after what happened last year with Royal Pain it's not that surprising that they're on their guard."

He looked at her again, "I know this might be weird but do you want to dance? Since we're here and everything."

* * *

><p>Will and Layla ran around the corner, fully dressed for the homecoming dance. They ran down the white hall ways to where Warren sat on the benches outside one of the hospital rooms. He held his face in his hands; it was obvious he wasn't taking defeat well. "Warren?" Layla asked.<p>

He looked up and looked drained of energy. "Hey."

"What happened?" Will asked.

Warren just shook his head, "I don't know. All I know is that something was off when I called and then when I arrived she went with him, and where were you when this was happening?" He shot a glare a Layla.

"Hey, don't blame Layla for this!" Will told him.

She shook her head, "He's right this is my fault, if I hadn't let her guilt me into going home none of this would have happened."

Warren shook his head again, "It would have. She would have found some stupid way of doing this." He slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair.

"So…how's Principal Powers doing?" Will asked.

He shook his head again, "She hasn't stopped crying since she woke up." Just after they had watched Serenity leave with Brian, Lynda had fainted. "My mother's with her now, trying to get her to calm down enough to tell us what happened."

They watched as the door opened and Helen walked out. "She's sleeping." She let out a sigh. "There was no way to get any sort of response from her the way she was so perhaps it'd be best to wait until tomorrow."

"Why don't you two go home and get some rest?" Layla asked, "Will and I can wait until she wakes up."

"No you two are going to go to the dance." Josie told them from where she stood with Steve.

"What? But we can't just leave her alone like this!" Will looked at his parents with disbelief.

"We aren't, Josie and I will stay here. You need to go the school and warn the other teachers. If Brian wants to get anywhere he'll need to take out Sky High first, so that the students won't be able to help in any of the battles." Steve told him.

"But before that he'll need Serenity's full power behind him, she won't be willing to help him completely." Josie told them.

"But she left with him!" Warren stood up. "She went with him willingly! She didn't even try fighting him!"

"Warren!" Helen scolded him.

He shot a scowl in his mother's direction, "I'll be in the car." He left quickly.

They waited until he was out of earshot, "I'm guessing her strong point is her will to survive." Josie continued.

"Really? We just called it her stubbornness but I guess that works too." Will looked at Layla.

"What I'm trying to say is that she's like her mother." She sighed.

"She is." Helen told them, "So what you're trying to say is that she won't use her powers willing for him. So…"

Josie finished her sentence, "He'll have to fully manipulate her like what he did at that one party to Hope."

"So we still have time!" Layla gasped.

Steve looked at them, "But it won't take long for him to be able to fully control her. So I'm telling you two that you need to go to the school…"

Will finished his sentence, "And warn the teachers, I know. Call us when Principal Powers wakes up."

"Alright." Steve and Josie watched as the two teenagers ran down the hallway visibly glad that there was some sort of silver lining to this.

Josie looked at Helen, "Go home and get some sleep, it's been a long night. Try to convince Warren to do the same."

"Alright, take turns taking watch and try to get some sleep yourselves, and please call me when she wakes up." Steve placed a hand on her shoulder and Josie hugged her. "I'll be fine don't worry we'll get her back."

* * *

><p>Will and Layla arrived at the dance while it was in full swing. They looked around for a teacher it didn't matter who, just someone. Layla tapped his arm, "I found Coach Boomer."<p>

"And I found Mr. Boy, let's split up and tell them. Try avoiding the other students, mainly Eve and that Jason kid then let's meet up again in fifteen minutes in front of the doors."

She nodded and went to Coach Boomer then stood on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear, "Serenity's been taken and Principle Powers is in the hospital, The Commander suggests being on high alert. Spread the word to the other teachers, Will's helping too."

Coach Boomer looked at her with shock, "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, but the doctor said that there wasn't much damage done to Principal Powers, though she's not taking this well." She looked at him.

He shook his head, "He wouldn't have hurt her too badly, because you never injure your bargaining chip. I see Medulla, go find someone else. Let's keep the word spreading. Wait where's Hothead?"

"He's not taking this well, he was there when she walked off with him. He went home with Mrs. Peace."

He nodded again, "This would hit them hard, though Warren was probably too young to remember it."

"Why?" She looked at him confused.

His face was solemn, "Because Helen and Warren were the last people to see Hope alive, except Serenity of course."

She closed her eyes, "I see." Her thoughts drifted to Warren's face at the hospital, 'Maybe we shouldn't have left them alone. We don't really have to worry about Mrs. Peace but Warren isn't known for having his best judgment when he's upset…'

She met up with Will after the fifteen minutes had past, she was more worried about what Warren was up to then spreading the wor, after all she knew that Will and Coach Boomer would have been sufficient. "Will, I'm worried about Warren." She told him.

"I am too; he didn't seem to have calmed down any at the hospital." His hand ran down his face, a clear sign of exhaustion.

"What about a hospital? And what were you two telling the teachers?" Evelynn stood behind them with Jason, her arms were crossed and her voice was cold. "And better yet, where is my boyfriend?"

"Eve? What are you doing here?" Will asked.

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you seriously asking me that, Stronghold?"

Layla stepped in between them, "Alright calm down, I'll explain everything."

"Layla?" Will raised an eyebrow.

She looked at him, "What other choice do we have? We could need their help and the faster we rescue Serenity the faster we can get over this."

"What happened to Serenity?" Jason asked.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Serenity called into the darkness from where she sat. "Let me out of here!" Her hands pounded against the bars of her cage. "I agreed to come with you! There's no need to lock me up!"<p>

"Will you shut up?" A female's voice called as the small lamp light in the cage flickered, a girl appeared.

"You're the girl who attacked me at the mall!" Serenity looked at her. "Can you let me out of here?"

"Um, no. I'm just here to see if you'll shut up if you have some company." Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

Serenity frowned, "So you're not going to show me around or anything, you're just going keep me here until…" She was hoping that her fishing would get her somewhere.

"Until he's ready for you." The girl was definitely good at dealing with captives, Serenity had to give her that much.

"So…" She tried to think of something that the girl would tell her then she realized that she didn't know her name. "What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?" The girl scowled.

Serenity smiled and managed to grab her hand, "Because the only name I have to call you is girl and on a planet with over six billion people on it half of whom are females. Girl just doesn't do you justice."

The girl pulled her hand back and if it was brighter Serenity would have seen the blush on her face, "Its Mia."

Serenity laughed softly, "It's cute it suits you."

Mia let out a gasp and stepped back, 'This girl is crazy! That's the only thing that explains how she's able to act this way!'

"Mia! Are you in here?" A booming called, the voice sent chills up Serenity's spine.

"It's time, I have to go." Mia looked at where the voice was coming from, then back at Serenity. "I'll come back again."

"Promise?" Nothing terrified Serenity more than being alone in the dark with a man who had tried to kidnap her several times.

"I promise." Mia looked at her and there was something in her eyes that made Serenity believe her. Mia melded into the shadows leaving Serenity alone.

'Was that fear? What does he have against her? Why is she here?' She wondered as the shadowed figure approached her. She looked at him and smiled, "Hi Uncle Brian. I have a complaint about your hosting skills; last time I checked it was bad etiquette to stick your guest in a cage."

He snorted, "You're sense of humor's amusing you're so much like your mother it's not even funny." She could have sworn that the scowl on his face was permanent. "I think it's time that you went to sleep." His shadows wrapped around her quick enough that she didn't even time to think about wrapping her neutralizing power around her. His hand shot out and held her forehead.

She bit back the scream that built in the back of her throat as nightmares filled her thoughts. 'Warren!' Was the last coherent thought she was able to form before she fell into the darkness of endless nightmares.

* * *

><p>Warren sat up and looked around, 'Did I just hear her voice?' Whatever he had heard it woke him up from a dead sleep. He ran his hand through is hair and noticed it was soaked with sweat. 'What's wrong with me?' He looked at his clock it flashed 9:30 a.m. His eyes widened but then he let out a sigh, "It's Sunday." It was the day after he lost Serenity to the one thing he was trying to protect her from and he still felt terrible.<p>

He got up and took a shower then went back to bed, though even if he wanted to sleep he couldn't. He just laid there staring at his ceiling as he ignored his mother's calls. He knew that he shouldn't leave her alone, but he didn't want to see her pretend to be all cheerful for his sake. There was a knock on his door and he figured it was his mother coming to see if he'd come out.

When the door opened he was surprised to see Evelynn standing there. "Your mom let me in; she wanted me to let you know that Principal Powers is awake and that she's going to go check on her."

"How do you know about that?" He looked at her, though it wasn't for very long.

"Can I come in?" She didn't know how to deal with a depressed Warren, she knew how to deal with every other Warren she had encountered over the past year but she had never seen him depressed. He waved her in and she sat down on the bed beside him. "Will and Layla told me everything." Her hand brushed his cheek, in an attempt to get him to look at her. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped."

"We were told not to tell anyone, the sidekicks were only told because Magenta was there when Serenity was attacked. Principal Powers' only two orders were that it was to be kept secret and she be kept safe." He told her then he snorted, "A lot of good we did there."

"You can't beat yourself up over this." Her thumb rubbed under his eye, tracing the dark circles there.

"I was right there when she went with him, I couldn't do anything. She was right there but I couldn't do anything!" He glared at the ceiling.

She let out a quiet sigh, "You're thinking about this far too much." She smiled as an idea hit her, "I have an excellent way to take your mind off of this."

He raised an eyebrow, "Eve what are you thinking?" She kissed him and her hands slid under his shirt.

* * *

><p>Warren woke when he felt a warm body next to his, his thoughts went to Monday morning when he awoke to his mom knocking on his door. Somehow, he found himself hoping that it was still Monday and that this was all just a nightmare thought up by his own cruel imagination and that the girl sleeping in his arms was Serenity. He opened his eyes when he felt a cold breath across his skin and he looked down at the sleeping form of Evelynn. He silently cursed himself for foolishly hoping that everything had been a dream, sure his dreams were creative but they weren't <em>that <em>creative.

Eve woke up to his hand absentmindedly playing with her hair, as much as she wished it was her he was thinking about her she knew it wasn't. He was still brooding about Serenity and if she was correct, they had hit a dead end. She shivered as his overheated hand met her cooled back, "Morning." His voice was rough and she looked up at him.

"Morning." She whispered, even though she knew it was probably early evening.

"I'm sorry about last night." He whispered.

She shook her head, "It's alright you had to get Principal Powers to the hospital. I understand." She placed her head back on his chest just to hear his heart beating.

"You didn't say it." His tone was quiet enough that she knew if she hadn't been paying attention she would have missed it.

"What didn't I say?" She knew what he was talking about but wanted him to admit it out loud.

He looked down at her, "You didn't tell me you loved me before you fell asleep, which is something you never forget to do."

She let out a sigh then looked at him, "That's because you wouldn't have been able to say it back honestly." She felt his posture stiffen, "Even now when I'm laying in bed with you, fully naked by the way, you're thinking about her."

"It's not what you think!"

"Warren shut up." He did as he was told, "All I want to know is if you have feelings for her."

"I…"

"I want the truth, no more lies."

"I don't know! I just don't know anymore. Seeing her cry made me uneasy and seeing her with another guy made me jealous."

"And when were you going to tell me?" Her ice blue eyes shimmered with something that he couldn't read.

"After homecoming. Oh Eve I'm so sorry. You have no idea how terrible I feel about this."

"Shh. Warren it's alright, I understand. You can't change how you feel about someone, but I should thank you for waiting until homecoming, it would have been awkward going by myself."

"You mean you aren't mad?"

She laughed quietly, "I'm not mad because I've known all along since the first day I met her that she was going to be the one you'd choose."

"Wait, what? How?" He looked at her with surprise apparent on his face.

She smiled, "My dad can see the future remember? Only this time he decided to warn me, that's why I'm glad you waited until homecoming…It let me enjoy these past two weeks." He opened his mouth but she placed her finger over it. "Not another word…All I want to hear is what you plan to do to get her back."

"What do you mean? She left on her own!"

She got out of bed and began putting her clothes on when she was dressed she threw his at him. "Get dressed."

"Where are we going?" He asked the question as he got dressed.

She shot him a glance that clearly called him weak, "We're going over to Serenity's place so we can find out why she did what she did." She left his room and he followed her as she walked down the stairs. She grabbed her coat from the closet and she pulled out the keys from her coat pocket then threw them at him. "You're driving and maybe you can find your strength on the way there."

They arrived at the empty Powers residence and she tried to open the door. "It's locked."

"Layla must have locked it last night. Hold on I'll call her she knows where the spare key is."

Layla answered on the first ring, "Warren? We've been trying to call you all day!"

"Sorry, I had my phone off…look I need to know where the spare key to Principal Powers' house is."

"It's under the mailbox. Why are you over there?" She asked.

He grabbed the key from under the mailbox, "Because we're going to try to find some clues about why last night happened."

"We're?"

"Eve and I don't worry. We'll come to the hospital when we find out what happened. We'll see you soon." He hung up, unlocked the front door then followed Eve into the house.

"I'll check down here, you check upstairs." Eve told him as he stared into the living room. "Warren?"

"Last night when I stared into this room, it was almost pitch black. I could barely see, when she put out my fireball I was practically blinded by darkness."

"So what did you see with your fireball?"

"She was leaning over there," He pointed to the corner by the window, "where Principal Powers was bound. He extended his hand, I threw it that's when she turned and put it out."

He remembered what she said on the bus Monday morning, _"__My mother liked it long__…__so I__'__m keeping it that way I don__'__t want to betray her. The moment I cut my hair is the moment I use my powers for evil.__"_He remembered seeing a glimmer of long comet white hair behind Serenity when she turned towards him.

"Her hair's still long." He stated.

"What?" Eve looked at him like he was crazy.

"Her hair's still long! Do you know what that means?"

"Obviously not."

He picked her up and spun her around, "It means that she hasn't left us! She's probably waiting for us to come and rescue her!"

"Warren! Put me down!" He muttered an apology and put her down. "Calm down we still need to know why. Go check her room or something."

"Right." He walked up the stairs and headed to the far end of the hallway. He looked at the door and realized that he'd never been in her room. He opened the door and gazed at the Caribbean blue walls, they were the same color as her eyes. He noticed that everything was either white or blue and he walked up to the book shelf. He looked at the titles, there was everything from books about kittens to old leather bound classical books. One in particular stood out; what seemed like an ancient copy of _Sleeping Beauty._

He gripped the shelves as he felt another memory spin to the surface. _"__Warren! Let__'__s read this today!__"__ A small Serenity ran up to him holding the giant book in her small hands._

_"__Sleeping Beauty? You really like that book, don__'__t you?__"__ He asked her._

_"__I do! Because one day my prince will come and save me from the spell and we__'__ll live happily ever after.__"__ She smiled widely._

He blew the dust off of the book and flipped open the cover and read the small writing there, "Dearest Serenity, you may not be able to read this book right now, but when you've found your prince and many years in the future when you have your own children you'll be able to tell them tales of the princess and her prince." He tried to read who it was from but the name was scratched out.

He took the book and sat down on her bed. He began flipping the pages; the book looked like it hadn't been read in ages. He closed the book and fell backwards. "This is getting us nowhere." He groaned as he raised his arms and they flopped back down onto her pillow. He paused when he heard the crunching of paper. He pulled the pillow onto his lap then stuck his hand inside the pillow case and pulled out a small piece parchment paper which he quickly read. "Well now we know why…" He muttered to himself, "But we still need to know where he took her and how to rescue her."

Evelynn stood in the doorway, "So what are you going to do about that?"

"First things first, we need to think of a plan and in order to do that we need to get to the hospital."


	12. Rescue

(A/N: What's this? I do believe we've reached the first part of the climax. Now with two percent more fluff =D Enjoy)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Twelve: Rescue

Serenity laid on her back staring at her wrist; it was turning a nice shade of purple. She knew that she had at least one fracture in it, probably more. She didn't even want to look at her ribs; she could only imagine how bad her fracture had spread. 'This is dangerous; my body won't be able to take much more of this abuse. But I can't do anything by myself. What's taking them so long?'

"I brought you scissors like you asked." Mia's voice made her sit up slowly.

Serenity smiled, "Thanks." She took the scissors in her good hand, thankful that when she had kept herself from falling in her nightmares she had used her left hand. She placed the scissors near the bottom of her dress, "Sorry…" She whispered as she cut into the fabric. She pulled the strip of fabric up to her wrist.

"Here let me," Mia's hand reached inside the cage and tied the fabric around her wrist.

"Thanks…Mia," Even talking was beginning to hurt her, "Why are you here? What is your tie to that man?"

"I can't tell you…"

Serenity looked at her and took Mia's hand into her good hand. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I can help you."

Mia shook her head but the look in Serenity's eyes made her hesitate. "He-He has my mother. If I can help him convert you to evil then he'll let us go."

"Then we have something in common. He took my mother away from me too." Serenity smiled, but it was short lived, pain shot up from her ribs and she gasped.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry!" Mia apologized.

Serenity shook her head when the pain subsided, "It's nothing, I got a hairline fracture on one of my ribs on Friday none of this is your fault."

"Mia! What are you doing in here?" Brian screamed.

"Father stop this! She's injured and needs to go to a hospital! She hasn't done anything wrong!" Mia told him, 'Why am I defending this girl? It's like I feel a connection with her but why?'

"It seems you've forgotten your place again." He grabbed her by the hair and began pulling her away from the cage.

"Let go of her! She hasn't done anything! If anyone should be hurt it should be me!" Serenity called out, her heroism was getting in the way of her thinking rationally.

"You'd really risk your own life for this? I had forgotten how stupid you heroes were."

She laughed, "You forget I'm no hero, just a sidekick. However nothing would give me greater pleasure then protecting one more innocent from your hands."

"Very well." He dropped Mia. With a snap of his fingers, the shadows began to surround her. They tightened around her waist and this time she couldn't fight the scream that tore through her throat, now she knew without a doubt that she had more than one broken rib. The attack relented enough for her to catch her breath as Brian's head turned, "It seems we have guests…friends of yours I assume. Well then we should greet them properly. But you however are going into a very long sleep." He placed his hand on her head and once again she was surrounded by nightmares causing her to pass out. "Come Mia."

"Is she going to be alright? Father!" Mia stopped and stood her ground, "You swore you wouldn't hurt her!"

He stopped and turned, "It seems that a bond is forming between you two. If you want your mother back in one piece you better remember who's side you're on. Now be gone I don't want to see you until you've made up your mind." He flicked his wrist and the shadows took her away.

* * *

><p>After Warren and Evelynn arrived at the hospital, he told Will and Layla everything he'd learned and now it was Monday afternoon. They had arrived at the site that Lynda had told them where she found the door to his lair despite the Commander's order not to go. "Are you sure this is the right spot Popsicle?" Warren asked through his communication device. Ethan and Magenta told them that they'd stay in the car otherwise they'd just get in the way. Zach had wanted to stay with them but Will dragged him along saying that his glowing ability would be useful.<p>

"I'm sure; this is the exact location where Principal Powers went missing." Ethan told him, he could even hear the tapping of computer keys in the background.

"This is the place alright." Jason told them as he stifled a shudder.

"Why are you here again?" Warren looked at him with a scowl.

Jason rolled his eyes, "Because I have the ability heal and I'm carrying the supplies."

Evelynn sighed, "Enough with the testosterone, let's find a door or something."

Will, Zach and Layla walked up, "There's nothing, not even a sign of a trap door."

"You probably wouldn't need one if you could travel by shadow." Zach told them.

Layla shook her head, "There has to be some sort of way, if what Principal Powers said is true Brian didn't always have the ability to travel through shadows. If only there was a way to shake the floorboards…" Their eyes drifted to Will, "loose."

"Oh right." Will stepped away, jumped and his fist hit the floor causing the floorboards to come loose, they heard a nearly silent click from the middle of the room.

Evelynn laughed as she looked at the latch on the hidden door, "He probably never expected that Will Stronghold would inherit his father's super strength when he glued it shut."

They lifted it open all the way and noticed that there weren't steps or stairs, just a hole. "Even if he couldn't travel through shadows he could manipulate them. Now what do we do?" Jason asked.

"I guess I fly each of you down." Will told them.

"Or we take the slide." Zach told them as he watched a slide as black as a moonless night appeared.

"Okay that's obviously a trap." Layla told them, she reached down to touch it when nothing happened she knocked on it. "It's solid and I don't think it's going anywhere."

"Alright…so do we take the slide or find some other way in?" Will looked at the others.

Warren shook his head, "It's obviously a trap I say we find another route."

"Do you see another route somewhere? This is our only chance." Jason told him.

"How about this Zach Layla and I will go down first then that way if you don't hear from us then you'll know to find another way down." Will told them.

"That's a stupid idea Stronghold. But…I don't see any other way around it." Warren nodded.

"I'll go first. Zach you follow shortly after then Layla." The other two nodded. "Here I go." Will positioned himself on the slide then let go of the sides. Zach waited then followed suit, and shortly after Layla followed him, she was once again glad she had worn pants. They saw Zach glowing from the bottom of the slide. "From what we can see it's clear!" Will called. "Just really dark."

Warren looked at the other two waiting, "I'll go first." He slid down and was engulfed in total darkness, if Zach hadn't been glowing at the bottom he would have thought that there was no end in sight. When he arrived at the bottom, he saw Will grinning.

"Have fun?" Will asked as Warren just snorted.

They watched as Evelynn and Jason slid down and Layla stifled a shudder. "It's kind of creepy down here."

"Ethan?" Will called into his communicator. At first he heard static but then it fizzed out and the static disappeared. "Great looks like we're on our own."

"Well knowing Ethan, we won't be here alone for long. If we're gone too long he'll call your parents…even though it means getting busted from skipping school." Zach told them.

"What do you mean our parents? Your dad's going to find out too!" Will told him.

Zach shrugged, "My dad already knows."

"Guys!" They all looked at Warren. "We have some things that need to get done."

"Is this where we spilt up?" Layla asked.

Will nodded and looked at Warren, "Be careful, and bring her back to us safely."

"You guys be careful too. He's dangerous, remember that." Warren warned them.

Jason handed them three different flashlights, "Just in case and here's some extra batteries."

"Thanks." Will and Warren shared a glance then nodded at each other.

Warren, Evelynn and Jason watched as Will, Layla and Zach walked off in a different direction. Warren then looked at Jason, "Can you sense her?"

"I can but…it's faint. It's like she's not even here…" He frowned.

"But she is here right?"

"Yes she's here, I can feel her." Jason began walking in the direction where he felt Serenity's presence.

They came to a doorway and Warren prepared to open it but was stopped when Evelynn placed a hand on his wrist, "Wait…"

"What is it Eve? Do you hear something?" Warren asked.

"No I want you to throw a fire ball down it to see if there are any…zombies." She whispered the last word.

"Ah right, that fear of zombies you have." Warren stifled a laughed.

"Whose fault do you think it is that I have this stupid fear?" She glared at him then muttered, "You and your stupid movies."

"Right…Sorry about that. Okay I'm opening the door." He quickly opened the door then threw a fire ball. He watched as a pack of hounds looked up, he heard them growl as they got up. He quickly shut the door before they could make it down the hallway.

"Why do heroes always get the short end of the stick?" Eve cried as she helped him hold the door closed. "Though it is still better then zombies."

Jason sighed, "Looks like we'll have to find another way around."

* * *

><p>Will, Layla and Zach walked carefully using the flashlight, it didn't take Zach long to get tired and for him to need a break. Layla had placed a hand on Will's shoulder and she held onto Zach's hand just so that no one got lost. She felt Zach jump and his had slipped out of hers, "You're both in front of me right?" He asked.<p>

"Yeah…now give me your hand back so we don't lose you." She told him. When he didn't respond she reached out behind her, trying to find him but had no luck. "Will! Zach's gone!" She squeaked.

He took her hand from his shoulder and used it to pull her up against his back, "Don't move." He told her. Her hands wrapped around him and his free hand held hers there. That's when he noticed her hands felt too dry and it caused him to turn around. What he saw wasn't his Layla; the person who was holding him was old, her skin wrinkled and her hair grey. He watched in horror as the skin peeled off of her and the remaining bones turned to dust.

He stepped away from the dust, "This can't be possible…it can't be! Layla is still alive! Come on Will snap out of it! This is just a nightmare!"

* * *

><p>Will's eyes snapped open; his hand was still clenched around the flashlight. He flicked it on and looked around. He saw Zach and Layla laying on the ground, he went to Layla's side and checked her pulse. It was still going on strong, "Layla! Come on! Wake up!" He went to Zach then checked his pulse which was also still going strong. "Zach! Wake up man! Magenta's waiting for you!"<p>

A couple of lights flicked on in front of him, "Oh my…Looks like Little Stronghold was the first to break free of my nightmare." Brian tapped his chin as he thought about what to do next.

"What did you do to them?" Will demanded as he got up, though his legs almost gave out on him. He began walking towards him.

"I put them to sleep; I can't have you foiling my plans before I have Serenity by my side." Brian snapped his fingers and bars fell down in between them.

Will reached out to the bars, ready to pull them apart but they electrocuted him. He pulled away and he glared at Brian, "She'll never fall for your cheap tricks!"

An hourglass appeared in Brian's hand, "By the time all the sand runs out, she'll be mine to control. Then all will bow down before me."

Will laughed, "Even if we don't stop you there will always be someone who will rise up against you."

He saw the frown on Brian's face as he approached him. "We shall see." Brian's hand reached through the bars and grabbed Will's head, forcing the nightmares into his mind. Will did his best to fight them but they became too much and he passed out. "Now onto the other three."

* * *

><p>Warren looked around, "Where are we? Are you sure that this is the right way?"<p>

"Yes I'm sure, she's close." Jason told him, he picked up the pace. He led them to the cage where Serenity slept, "She's here."

"Is she alright?" Evelynn asked.

"I don't know." Jason shook his head.

Warren looked at her and it made his blood run cold, she looked so pale under the light of the lantern. "Eve freeze the bars."

Evelynn nodded and began to freeze the bars of the cage. Warren pulled them off as she finished freezing them. When the opening was wide enough to fit through he slipped inside the cage. He touched Serenity's neck, checking for her pulse, it was there but it was faint. "She's alive." The other two let out sighs of relief but the look on his face made them worry.

"What's wrong?" Eve asked.

"She's cold." He picked Serenity up and brought her out of the cage. He set her down and used his lap as a pillow.

Jason checked her pulse and then tried to use his healing power to increase the blood flow in her but it didn't work. "If this continues…" He didn't need to finish the sentence; they both knew what would happen. They'd lose her forever.

"What do we do?" Warren asked, "I promised I'd keep her safe, but now…" The next thing he realized was that Eve forced him to look at her and her hand hit his face.

"Get a hold of yourself Warren Peace! She's still alive! We've still got a chance! You're a portable heater, do something about how cold she is!" Eve glared at him, but it didn't last long. "You've still got some things to tell her right? Are you giving up? Don't let this all be for nothing!"

He nodded; sometimes all it takes is a slap in the face to get back in the game. "Jason keep doing whatever it is you're doing." He pulled Serenity's body against his except for the hand that Jason was still holding. He raised his body temperature, enough so that he was radiating heat, but not so much that he lit on fire.

"It's working." Jason told him.

'Come on Serenity, open your eyes.' Warren pleaded silently.

"Warren…" Eve thought of something, "What's her favorite story? Honestly when I was a kid I'd have nightmares of my favorite fairytales all the time…"

"How should I know? She doesn't tell me those things." He remembered the copy of _Sleeping Beauty _then he remembered her claim of a prince coming to save her. 'It couldn't hurt to try…' He tilted her head up and pressed his lips against hers. Another memory came reeling to the surface as he kissed her.

_He saw his father consoling his mother, his hand stroking his mother__'__s hair, his lips pressing against hers at regular intervals then moving to her eyes to kiss the tears away. _

_He hopelessly looked at a crying __Serenity; even though she was younger than him she knew, better than anyone here, what was going on after all it was her world that was being flipped upside down. He looked at his parents again then looked at Serenity. He walked over to her and took her hand in his. He gently leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, just as he had seen his father do, his lips then kissed away her tears. When he was done he looked into her now wide Caribbean blue eyes and whispered, __"__I__'__ll always be here for you__"_

_He turned when his mother squeaked out his name, __"__Warren!__"__ Her hands covered her mouth._

_He heard his father chuckle, __"__Don__'__t worry about it Helen, he was just copying me. And it worked see? Serenity__'__s no longer crying.__"_

_A fresh set of tears filled Helen__'__s eyes, for the first time in the past two weeks she saw Serenity smile, as she squeezed Warren__'__s hand. _

Warren pulled away from Serenity's lips, his eyes opened and they pleaded that she'd open hers. Jason looked up at them then felt her pulse speed up; he looked directly at her and watched as her eyes fluttered open. She smiled at Warren and whispered, "My prince."


	13. Final Battle

(A/N: The final part of the Climax! Woohoo! But don't worry folks, this isn't the last chapter, so enjoy!)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to its legal owners.

Chapter Thirteen: Final Battle

Serenity ran, it was the only thing she could do. She could feel the darkness following her and clouding her thoughts. Sometime during her run, she had begun to get cold. Wait how long had she been running for? She didn't know anymore, this forest seemed to go on forever and all she knew was that if she stopped moving even for a second it'd get her. She looked up for a moment and saw a castle, 'Okay so there's a castle in the middle of a forest…right like this doesn't scream trap.' She thought to herself. 'But…' She looked back, 'it's the best bet I have to find cover.'

Her legs led her to the castle with ease and when she pushed the door shut she leaned against it cradling her wrist to her chest. She tried to remember how to breathe, though every time she took a breath her side ached. She kept the tears from falling from her eyes, "Dreams aren't supposed to hurt." She muttered as she pulled away from the door and headed down the corridor. She shuddered, 'How am I cold? I ran all the way here. Something's not right…I feel sick.'

She saw the twisting staircase down the hall and it seemed like something was calling her to it. She walked up what seemed like the never ending set of stairs, "Why do I feel like I'm caught in a really bad Rapunzel story?" She looked at the door waiting for her at the end of the stairs then opened it, and saw a spindle sitting there causing her to smile sardonically. 'Make that a really bad Rapunzel Sleeping Beauty crossover.' She walked over to it, "Is this where I let my hair down and fall asleep for a hundred years? Then wait for my prince to come and rescue me? What am I some damsel in distress?" She looked at the spindle again and somehow it was oddly enticing. She ran her finger up the needle, even though she consciously knew what would happen if she did, her fingers slowed down near the top and she was just about to prick her finger.

"STOP!" A small voice called out to her causing her to pull away from the needle.

"Oh God what now? We're severely steering off course from the story here." She stared at what she assumed was a fairy. "Didn't Sleeping Beauty have three fairies?"

"The other two have already bestowed their gifts on you." The small fairy crossed her arms.

"Right…okay and what were those?" She tried to prevent another shudder from running through her but it only caused her side to throb. 'If this continues, I'm going to vomit…maybe sitting down would be a good thing.' She sat down on the floor, but still maintained eye contact with the fairy.

"The first one was your power boosting ability and the second was your power neutralizing ability." The fairy held up two empty orbs which Serenity felt an instant connection to.

"And what's your gift?" She asked. "Is it if I poke that spindle am I going to go asleep for a hundred years instead of dying?"

"No." The fairy glared at her, "I am here to give you the gift of light."

"The what now?" Her eye brows furrowed. "Last time I checked humans already mastered the ability to make light."

"You're running out of time and that's what you say to me? Serenity! You're friends are in grave danger and your making sarcastic remarks?" The fairy hit her on the head with her wand.

"Ow! Sorry!"

"You better be." Serenity watched as the fairy placed her hands in front of her chest and from it a small ball of light appeared.

The ball of light floated toward Serenity and it grew when she reached for it. She carefully held it in her hands as she pulled it closer to her. She held it near her face and lightly rested her head against it, "It's warm." She whispered.

"It is your parents' final gift to you. Do you accept it?"

Serenity swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat and blinked back the tears in her eyes. "I do." The light exploded and put her flat on her back. When she opened her eyes the fairy was gone, and that's when she heard someone coming up the stairs causing her to freeze; her eyes closed and she nearly stopped breathing as the door slammed open. She pretended to be dead as whoever walked into the room, 'Let this nightmare come to an end.' She pleaded.

The person walked over to her and held her, cradling her on their lap though now she could tell from the structure of the muscles that they were a male. He whispered, "Come on Serenity, open your eyes."

'This voice…' She felt warmth coursing through her. He tilted her head up and pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

><p>Serenity's eyes fluttered open and she looked at the person holding her then smiled as she whispered, "My Prince." She saw Warren smile back at her and her senses went into hyper drive. She pushed away from him but his arms kept her from falling off of him. Her face paled but then blush quickly covered it. 'Oh God did I just say that? Did I seriously just call Warren Peace a prince? More importantly did I just call him <em>my<em> prince?'

"Morning Sleeping Beauty." He whispered it was obvious that he was enjoying this.

She looked anywhere but his face, that's when she saw Jason and Eve looking at her. "Serenity!" Jason grinned.

"It's good to see you, Jason, Evelynn. But I've got a bad feeling…where are the others?" She tried to get up again and this time Warren let her. She avoided touching her ribs in order to avoid showing just how injured she truly was.

"They went after Brian." Evelynn told her.

"Shit…" They all looked at her, she never swore, "We need to get going. Jason I need your help." She reached her good hand out to him and he took it. "Expand your senses and try to concentrate on Will, I'll do the rest." He did as she told him and she boosted his power enough for him to sense the vague energies of Will, Layla and Zach. But there was something else…a different energy that he'd never encountered before.

"I sense them, but I also sense someone else." He told her.

"Brian?" Warren asked.

"Mia…" Serenity whispered. Her hands clenched onto Jason's shoulders even though her broken wrist screamed at her. "Take me to her!" He looked at her like she was crazy. "NOW!" He nodded, mostly because he was terrified of her at this point. He led the way to the strange power and the first thing Serenity noticed was the sound of a heart monitor. She ran towards the sound and opened the door then for a moment she was blinded by the light.

"You!" Warren called and suddenly a fireball was in his hand.

Serenity stood in front of the girl as she sat by a bed occupied by an older woman. "Don't even think about it Warren." She warned him and he hesitated but ultimately put the fireball out.

Mia looked up at Serenity, "Why are you being so nice to me? I attacked you! You should hate me!"

Serenity turned and knelt beside her, "Because you didn't want to, that icy glare that you gave me…it was just an act."

Mia's hand shot out and latched itself around Serenity's throat. "Why are you still looking at me like that?"

Serenity's hands gently pressed on Mia's wrist, "Because you're scared. You want someone to help you." Mia's hand loosened, "You've been waiting a long time Mia, but it's alright…I'm here now, I'll help you." Mia's hand dropped but she didn't pull away from Serenity's hands. Her hand's brushed Mia's bangs out of her eyes and then slid down enough to lift her face to look at her. "Is that your mother?"

Mia nodded, "She's been like that for the past ten years."

"What did he do?" Serenity got up but kept Mia's hand in hers. "Did he place her in a nightmare?" Mia nodded. "Then…" Serenity looked at Jason, who was checking the IVs "I should be able to neutralize the power without hurting her, right?"

"You should everything seems to be in order. Though she might not regain consciousness for a couple of days and we still have to get the others." He looked at her.

"Is that alright with you Mia?" She placed her right hand's index finger onto Mia's mother's forehead, though she didn't power up. "However if I do this for you, I need you to do something for me." Mia nodded frantically. "I need you to help me when the time is right. I'll need you on our side."

Warren watched as Serenity easily took charge of the situation. Something had changed her over the past two days, something he couldn't describe. She seemed older, more mature then when he had seen her in the nurse's office stubbornly refusing his help. Somehow it felt like if he took his eyes off of her she'd run right past him without looking back, leaving him behind to chase after her. He watched as she powered up slightly and as the woman's face seemed to change marginally; if he hadn't been paying attention he would have missed it. He watched as Serenity's lips curled up into a smile, then as she pulled away from the woman and then turned back to Mia offering her a hand. That's when he noticed that she was using her right hand for almost everything, which wasn't strange considering it was her dominant hand but it still made him look at her left hand that's when he noticed the small piece of fabric that was wrapped around her wrist. "Serenity, are you…" He was cut off.

"Alright let's get going Jason lead the way!" She called out, her right hand still holding Mia's as she nearly dragged the poor girl out of the room.

They followed Jason to where the other three slept. Evelynn, Warren and Jason checked their pulses then looked at each other than at Serenity. "They're alive." Warren told her, "Will's pulse is steady, how about the other two?" Evelynn and Jason nodded.

"We've just got to wake them up." Evelynn told her.

"Leave it to me." Serenity looked at Mia, "Stay here; if you disappear I'll be very upset." She let go of her hand then walked over to Zach first and then used a small portion of her power to neutralize Brian's nightmare power. She repeated the process with the other two as Zach woke up.

"What happened? And why do I feel like I've been hit by a truck?" Zach asked as he sat up holding his head.

Will sat up, "I feel like I'm waking up the morning after the party of the century."

Layla squealed when she saw Will and tackled him back down, kissing him passionately. "I thought you were dead!" She quickly turned and looked at Serenity who seemed to be ready to hide the moment their eyes met. Layla tackled her too but Serenity kept them upright though she was trying not to scream or cry because Layla's arms crossed over her ribs.

'Oh yeah…there is definitely more than one broken.' Serenity let out a hissed breath, "Layla, you're hugging my fractured rib."

She pulled away instantly, "Are you alright? He didn't do anything to you did he?"

"I'm fine…so what are we going to do now?" Serenity looked at the others trying not to show how much pain she was in.

"We need to stop my father." Mia told them.

"Your father?" Layla asked, now noticing the girl who nearly blended into the shadows just by standing there.

"Oh right you mentioned that before…" Serenity looked at Mia while extending a hand out to her hoping she'd come closer. "So this means…"

Mia walked up, "That we're cousins, yes."

"That still doesn't explain why you two look so much alike." Zach said while rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing doubles.

"Our fathers were twins…that's the only reason why I can think of." Mia looked at Serenity who simply shrugged. "Anyways back onto the point of where we take out my father…"

"She's right," Warren told them, "If we don't end this now, this will keep happening. We can finally get this over and done with."

'But then…I won't be able to see him on a daily basis anymore…' Serenity frowned, "But how do we defeat shadow?"

"The same way it's been defeated since the beginning of time, with light." Layla told them.

It all came crashing down on Serenity until she sincerely thought she might vomit. The nightmare she had wasn't just a dream it had been real in a fictional sort of way. She acknowledged the new power inside of her and she felt it warm her to her toes. She suddenly understood why she and Mia looked so much alike and suddenly the world seemed so much clearer. She wasn't sure how long this clarity might have lasted so she looked at the others. "I have a plan. But we need to get on the other side of those bars."

"They're electrically charged." Will told them.

Mia shrugged, "I can take us across to the other side."

"No!" They all looked at Serenity, "What I mean is save your strength…Warren can easily melt the bars. Right?"

"Yeah…" He raised an eyebrow, 'What are you planning?' He went over to the bars and began melting them from a safe distance.

Will looked at Serenity, "So are you going to fill us in on this plan of yours?"

"I can't he might be listening. But trust me on this one okay?" While they waited Serenity began undoing the hair style that Layla had put it in on the day of the dance. She split the hair enough for her to make two ponytails that almost hit the floor. When she was finished she heard Warren throw a fireball at the now melted bars blocking the way. "Mia and I will go first, that way if he's back there I can quickly neutralize his power, but if it proves too much then she can get us out." She took Mia's hand and led her past the newly formed entrance way to the other side of the bars.

When they were through Serenity looked at the others apologetically, "Sorry guys…" Mia placed a barrier of shadow behind the bars so that the others couldn't follow them. Serenity touched her shoulder, "Keep that thing stable, I'll be back." Mia watched slightly as Serenity ran towards Brian's command room, she looked at the floor and there were small footprints that weren't covered in shadows.

"What is that girl?" Mia muttered as she flinched when she felt the Stronghold boy punch the barrier she made.

Serenity ran towards where she knew Brian was waiting for her. She paused when she reached a door, she knew with every fiber of her being that he was behind this door and she kicked it open. "I know you're in here you might as well come out and fight like a man!" She called.

"What a shame. To think that they had the ability to wake you up…not even I could have imagine they had that much power." Brian told her from where he sat on the chair in the back of the room.

"You really think your stupid little nightmares would convert me to evil?" She placed her hand behind her back and she tried to create a small ball of light in it, ready to throw it the moment she got a clear shot.

"Strange your mother said the same thing when she stood in that same spot." He got up and began walking towards her.

She sensed that his shadows were expanding around her ready to attack her at the opportune moment. 'Keep yourself calm Serenity,' She told herself, 'No matter what he says do not use your trump card until you know it's going to hit him.'

"Do you want to see where she died?" His hand reached out and touched a machine causing it to light up.

She watched in horror as the sparks shot from one end to the other, "Speaking of my mother…" She prepared her neutralizing power a few more steps and he'd be close enough for her to use it. "Are you ready to pay the price for killing her?"

"And what are you going to do? You don't have any offensive powers." He laughed as he continued to stalk towards her.

She counted down the steps he took until he was close enough, '3...2...1' He stepped into her fully expanded power neutralizing zone then she threw the ball of light. It hit him square in the stomach throwing him a couple of feet away from her.

"How did you do that? That power died when my stupid brother did!" She could see it dawn on him, "No it's not possible."

"It is." Her tone was dark; this was no longer a game. "I am the Yang to Mia's Yin. I am the light to Mia's dark, and unfortunately you're throwing the balance out of order. I am here to fix that problem." Another ball of light formed in her hand as she walked closer to him keeping him inside of her neutralizing barrier. She hurled the ball at him, "That was for all of the pain you caused Mia over the years."

He watched as she straddled the lines of good and evil he had always known that she was close to the edge but he had never imagined that it'd go this far. The look in her eyes was the look of a killer, not of the innocent fourteen year old that she was raised to be. He laughed, "You're not that different from me."

She paused, giving him time to gather his shadows, "I am nothing like you." She growled.

"Oh really, I killed my sister-in-law but you…you're ready to kill your own uncle, now tell me where exactly is that different." He grinned as the ball in her hand faded out and his shadows covered her completely.

She hadn't seen it coming, she hadn't even sensed it. She had been too busy with getting her revenge, with finally ending this, to see what she was becoming. 'So now you're trapped in a pack of shadows what are you going to do?' She mentally scolded herself. 'What would the others think of you? Layla would probably look at you with wide scared eyes. Will probably wouldn't even look at you…but Warren would probably sneer and call you a hypocrite and that would be the end of that, wouldn't it?' She opened her eyes and felt power build up inside of her. She sent it outward causing the shadows around her to shatter. She looked at Brian as he stopped laughing. "I am nothing like you." She told him.

He cringed back as he saw the clear unclouded look in her eyes, it was the same look his brother had given him time and time again when they were kids, but it was also the same look Hope had given him when she had come to fight him. It was the look of every hero he had come to despise. He glared at her as he tried to figure out what to do next.

* * *

><p>Will punched the shadow barrier again and this time there was a change, he heard it crack. "Once more." He hit the spot again and it shattered. The six of them looked at one very surprised Mia.<p>

"Hi." She squeaked as they looked at her. "I'm sorry! But she helped my mother what was I supposed to do? I told her I'd help her when the time came."

"That's not important, where'd she go?" Warren asked.

"She went to go face Brian." Mia pointed in the direction.

Warren ran a head of the others, "Warren!" Layla cried. The others followed him and she was planning to follow them but she noticed Mia was still standing there. "Are you coming?"

Mia looked at Layla as she ran after the others, "Hey! Wait for me!" Mia cried as she followed them.

Warren followed the sounds of the battle going on and his legs propelled him forward. When he approached the doorway he saw flashes of light bright enough that he had to cover his eyes. He heard Will and the others approach, "What's going on?" Will asked in a hushed voice.

"I think that their fighting." Jason told him.

"I know that but how? Serenity doesn't have any offensive powers." They cringed back as a flash of light happened near the door way. "Maybe I was wrong."

Layla peered into the doorway and saw Serenity and Brian standing on opposing ends of the room gasping. She looked at Serenity and noticed how her left arm seemed to be in utter ruin, she could nearly see where the bone was damaged in it. "We've got to stop them!"

"If we distract her he might us that chance to get away." Evelynn hissed.

"Her arm is broken!" Layla snapped.

Mia looked at them like they were completely oblivious, "So is her left wrist and her ribs…"

They all looked at her, "Why are you just telling us this now?" Will glared at her, "I mean we knew about her rib but we didn't know about her wrist."

Their heads turned as Serenity's voice was heard, "Not bad old man…but this is where it ends." Her breath was labored and she knew she was bruised all over. 'I can boost other peoples' powers…why can't I boost my own?' She looked around the room, wherever her blasts that had missed and hit the wall, the shadows didn't formed back. 'I can win this…I just have to concentrate. Focus all of your senses on your hand, find your remaining energy…all of it and then take the shot.' She focused everything she had to her good hand, she felt the energy build up there, then she put everything she had in her to boost her own power. She felt the pull and tug of the powers from the people behind her.

Layla looked at Warren, "You're on fire!" She squeaked.

"And you've got flowers growing in your hair." He raised an eyebrow.

She pulled out a small flower of honeysuckle from her hair and went to hand it to Will, only to notice he was off the ground. "Will you're floating…"

"Yeah…I can't seem to get down." He frowned.

Zach turned, showing off his super glow, "This is even brighter than the time your power went out. I like it. But I think Serenity's using her limit breaker right now."

"Are you seriously making a Final Fantasy reference right now?" Evelynn asked as she stared at her hands which seemed to be made of ice, "Though this is pretty awesome if you think about it."

Jason and Mia looked at each other, both were unaffected by Serenity's sudden boost in power. He spoke, "Okay I can understand why I'm not affected but why aren't you?"

"Serenity at this point can't tell the difference between my power and my father's power, she doesn't want to risk giving him more power then he already has." Mia watched from the doorway.

Serenity opened her eyes to see the energy ball that had formed in her hand, there was all different colors in it, fire red, leaf green, neon yellow, sky blue, ice blue and comet white. 'Everyone's power, it feels so warm.' She looked up just in time to see Brian lunge at her. She aimed it at him, but a sharp pain ran through her causing her to lose control of the energy in her hand. The next thing they all saw was the energy exploding.


	14. Aftermath

(A/N: Woot chapter fourteen! How this chapter got so long I have no idea, it just kind of happened. I also think I may have slammed on the fluff, mostly because I love it, so let me know what you think.=D)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to its legal owners

Chapter Fourteen: Aftermath

The combined force of all of their powers exploding blasted them all back. Layla was the first to open her eyes that's when she noticed that the shadows were gone; she looked around trying to see where the others were. "Is everyone alright?" She asked as she sat up.

"Let me be the first to say…OW!" Zach said as he stared at the ceiling.

She looked around again, "Where's Will?"

She saw Warren lift his hand up and brought her attention to the hole in the wall behind them. "He'll be back shortly." He told her as he sat up.

They all heard the static return to their communicators and Ethan's voice was heard, "Guys! Guys! Can you hear me?"

"It's good to hear your voice again Ethan." Will told him as he climbed out of the hole in the wall. "Hey guys." He looked at the others still on the floor.

"Will!" Layla squeaked.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Serenity's energy ball exploded." Evelynn told him.

Warren's eyes opened, "What happened to her?" He looked into the room and saw her laying on the ground.

Jason looked into the room and sat up enough so that he could see properly. He couldn't see her chest rising or falling. He crawled over to her and his suspicions were confirmed, she wasn't breathing. He tilted her head up enough that he could get a decent flow of air into her lungs as he parted her lips and breathed into mouth. He checked her pulse which was faint; he kept his fingers over her pulse as he continued to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Warren got up very shakily and walked over to where Jason and Serenity were. He heard Jason mutter, "Come on breathe." Warren saw him freeze then heard him curse. "What are you planning to do? Die on us?"

"What can I do?" Warren asked as Jason began giving her CPR.

"Give her CPR; I need to place a brace on her leg. Remember five chest compressions per breath. Match your compressions with your heartbeat." Warren knelt on the opposite side of Serenity and his hands replaced Jason's.

Will walked into the room, looking around for Brian who he was going to make pay for this. "Ethan we're going to need an ambulance, Serenity's pretty badly injured." His eyes drifted to the end of the room behind the chair and he saw a shrunken figure who was obviously trying to sneak away. "Found you." He flew over so the Brian didn't hear his approach. He quickly picked up the older man, "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

"Let go of me!" He demanded.

Will flew higher so that Brian could get a good look at Serenity, "You see that girl over there my best friend has feelings for that girl. So if anything happens to her you'll have to pay the price for hurting her back tenfold."

"Will!" Josie called from the door way where she and Steve stood in full hero outfit.

Will flew over to them with Brian still in his hands. "Hi." He said sheepishly.

"You guys did it!" Josie said as Steve took Brian from Will. "Though you're grounded for skipping school and for disobeying our orders."

"I'll be back; we've got a very nice police van waiting for him." Steve told them as he dragged Brian away.

"We didn't do it…Serenity did." Will told Josie as she looked at the girl who was battered and broken.

Warren continued to give CPR to Serenity, "Come on breathe." He muttered while everything looked utterly hopeless. His pulse sped as he tried to get the girl's heart to restart. "You can't just die on us!" He told her.

"Come on Serenity." Layla muttered as she walked over and took Will's hand.

Helen ran around the corner, out of breath as she peered into the doorway. She took in everything and her hands shot up to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "No. You can't die…we were just finally getting to know each other again."

Warren shook his head, as he tried to rid himself of the tears in his eyes, he wouldn't cry not in front of everyone. "Serenity you better listen to me and you better listen well. You are not going to die." He paused to breathe into her mouth. "You're going to open your eyes and then when you're all healed you're going to return to Sky High. You're going to start eating lunch with us again. Then we're all going to take the bus together again and you'll come to my place to convince my mother that you're fine." Another breath. "And then you'll take me to your old place where I am going to tell you something very important." He went to give her another breath but she inhaled.

The others watched as Serenity started coughing, "Oh thank God!" Layla told them with tears running down her face.

Serenity couldn't move she just laid there and coughed, she tried to stop because all it did was cause her ribs to ache. She tried to move her right arm to cover them but it wouldn't move and when she felt her hand twitch she had to swallow down a scream. "Well it's good to know my arms broken." She muttered as she opened her eyes. She saw Warren looking down at her, "Hey, what's this? Is Warren Peace crying?" She teased.

He rubbed his eyes, "No!"

"Come here." She told him and hated herself for not being able to move. He leaned closer and she managed to lift herself up enough to kiss away the tears that he hadn't quite gotten rid of. She whispered loud enough for only him to hear, even with Jason holding down her leg, "Don't worry I'm not going anywhere."

"You're an idiot." He told her with a small smile then looked up, "The medics are here, they'll take care of you."

"Please move away from her so we can get her on the stretcher." One of the medics told him.

"Hey Jason." The other looked at the boy. "What's the situation?"

"Her leg's broken, that much I know for sure but I'm not sure about everything else, we had to use CPR on her and she fractured one of her ribs on Friday. Can you guys take her to my dad's hospital? You know just to be safe." He frowned.

"Well since you're involved I kind of figured. Don't worry we'll take of her."

"What are you doing? Hurry up and help me! She needs some serious help we'll need to put her to sleep when we get into the ambulance." The other medic told him.

"Wait…" Serenity told them. "Warren, Mia kept her promise. Her mother needs to get to a hospital…"

"Alright, we'll follow behind in the car." He watched as his mother stomped her foot. "Or I guess the others could follow behind in the car, since you need someone of age to ride with you in the ambulance." He looked up to see his mother give him a double thumbs up, causing him to shake his head. He waited as they lifted Serenity onto the stretcher, he knew she was forcing down the scream that threatened to break free. Somehow he knew that if she started screaming now, she wouldn't stop. He watched as blood trickled down her lip as she bit onto it to keep herself from crying, she was brave that much he'd admit.

He walked up to the group before the stretcher got past the door, "Mia," He looked at the girl who seemed uncertain now that Serenity wasn't around, "Take them to go get your mother, then we'll meet you at the hospital. Jason knows the way, right?" He looked back at the healer, who he could have sworn was glaring at him.

"Yeah." Jason nodded as he pulled out his cell phone. They watched as the stretcher came through and Warren followed it nodding to Steve as he came back to the group.

"So are those two together yet?" He asked, looking back at Warren.

"Give them a couple of days." Evelynn told them as she walked off wanting to get out of this place and breathe some fresh air. "I'll be outside."

Layla looked back and forth between Evelynn walking away and Will's face. He shrugged; he didn't know anything either, after all Warren wouldn't talk about what was going on with him unless Will specifically asked. "I'm gonna follow Eve, go get Mia's mother." She placed a quick kiss on Will's cheek and followed Eve out of the building. She found her standing outside away from the building entrance. "Eve?"

Eve blew out a frosty breath, "I'll be fine."

"What happened?"

"He was reintroduced to his childhood friend and we hit a dead end because of it. His heart just wasn't in it anymore after all she's held the key to unlocking it since they were kids."

"What are you talking about?" Layla slightly confused about what she was saying.

"Ten years ago, just after my seventh birthday party, my parents took me to a funeral. They probably couldn't get a babysitter I don't know. My mother went out of courtesy because I know she pretty much hated the girl since high school. There had to be at least two dozen supers at this funeral, and there was one villain that I remember."

"Barron Battle?" Layla asked taking a guess.

"What I remember most is this boy being there, he didn't cry though his mother was bawling. This boy kept looking back and forth between his parents and this girl with impossibly white hair. It was plain on her face that she had been crying for a while, I watched as the boy went up to the girl took her hand and kissed her then he kissed her tears away." She laughed bitterly, "Like some prince!" She let out another chilled breath freezing the condensation in the air in front of her. "When I met that boy again he was different, colder now. His eyes no longer burned because of kindness instead they were hateful and he never smiled."

"Warren and Serenity?" Layla asked.

Eve nodded, "He might not realize it but he needs her." She sank down to the sidewalk. "I don't want to get in the way of that…" She tilted her head back as a couple of tears slipped out of her eyes, "But it still hurts." After the first few came out, every ounce of tears that she'd been holding back over the past two weeks came flowing out.

Layla sat down beside her took her hand and remained silent while Eve quietly cried. Layla heard Will over her communicator, "We're leaving now, are you two ready?"

"Go on ahead without us, we'll catch up." She told him and they did, when they arrived Serenity was still in critical condition. The doctor told them that it would be best if they came back in a couple of days since they were going to keep her under close observation until they knew it was safe for her to wake up.

Two Days later:

Serenity first heard the beeping of the heart monitor when she woke up, she opened her eyes then quickly closed them again as the brightness burned them. She opened them again more slowly this time. All she saw was white on white walls. She took in a deep breath and smelled the faintest of smells of medication. 'Wait did I just take a deep breath? I could have sworn…' She took in another one and yet there still wasn't any pain circulating through her. She took this opportunity to try and sit up. She waited for pain to shoot up anywhere but it didn't, the only thing she noticed was the cast covering most of her left arm, it covered it from just past the elbow to her fingers. "Well at least it's my left arm…" She looked around the room again from a different perspective; she noticed the chair beside her bed and its occupant. Her fingers stroked the fine brown hairs. "Auntie Lynda…" She called softly and the woman stirred.

Lynda stirred at her name being called and the feeling of her head being touched. She looked up to spot two trails of comet white pigtails leading upwards instead of laying on the pillows. She looked up into the Caribbean blue eyes of her niece and she hugged her tightly. "Oh thank God you're awake! And alive! And Awake!"

"Where are we?" Serenity asked.

"In a hospital dedicated to fixing up supers, though you were probably the worst case they've ever gotten. And probably the first person they've had to put a cast on." Lynda frowned as she pulled away from their hug. "How do you feel?"

"Fine. It's strange having to wear a cast though, but I'll get used to it." Serenity shrugged.

"So how much-" Lynda was cut off by a knock on the door. "Enter."

The door opened and a doctor walked in, "Oh good you're awake." He smiled, "How do you feel?"

"Fine." She saw a glint in his eyes that reminded her of Jason.

"That's good to hear, you were pretty beat up when the ambulance brought you in." He flipped some pages on the clipboard, "Twelve fractured ribs, and two fully broken ones. The bone in your right arm was practically shattered. Your leg had a full break and two different fractures in it and they had to give you CPR. Surprisingly the thing with the least amount of damage was your left arm, though it was broken and your wrist had about six different fractures. You, Serenity Powers, are a lucky girl not many people would have survived something like that, hell most super heroes wouldn't have survived that."

"What makes you bring up the topic of super heroes?" She half laughed.

"Serenity relax this man was Kyle's…I mean your father's sidekick and he's also your friend Jason's dad." Lynda told her.

"Speaking of Jason, Miss. Powers, you have visitors. So I'll come back in a bit for now you should ease their worries." He opened the door again and walked out. She heard his voice talking to someone else.

The first person that walked through the door was Layla, who squealed and ran over to the bed and hugged her. "You're awake!"

"You're chipper as always." Serenity told her as she patted her back.

Layla pulled away enough for her to see that everyone had entered the room. Will waved, Ethan grinned, Zach beamed, Magenta was holding a bundle of flowers, Jason gave her the sign for victory with a smile, and Evelynn smiled and gave her a small wave. Serenity frowned when she noticed that Warren and Mia were missing. Layla looked at her frown and then at the group. "Where is he?"

"Still outside." Will told her.

She frowned then stalked outside she looked at the brooding boy sitting on the chair. He'd been there longer than the others had. "Well?"

"What?" He looked up at her.

She crossed her arms, "Are you going to go in by yourself or do I have to drag you?"

"I'd like you see you try." He grinned as she grabbed his arm and tried to get him out of his chair. She pulled and tugged until her face was red, but he remained seated.

She looked down at him and pouted while making her eyes as wide as possible, "Warren…"

Sometimes he hated the women in his life, "Alright fine I'm going." He got up with her hands still wrapped around his arm. She made it look like she was dragging him in as they walked into the room.

"I brought him!" She told them.

He looked up at the bed to see Serenity there, she smiled lightly and he returned the smile; glad to see that she was awake. They looked away from each other when they heard Will speak. "So how much do you remember?"

Serenity paused quickly she looked down at her hands trying to make it look like she was thinking. Then she looked back up at them and smiled, "Up to the point where he used his nightmare creating power on me the first time."

Warren looked at her, 'The first time?' He smiled as he realized that she was lying. He had spoken to Mia privately when he had gotten the chance, she had told him that Brian had put her to sleep twice, the first time was when she had fractured her wrist and the second time was when they had found her.

Lynda stood, "I'm going to go get something to eat do you kids want anything?"

Serenity looked at her, "I'll have whatever you're having." She whispered.

The others politely declined, but Jason told her that he'd come with her. They watched as the two exited the room. Evelynn whispered something to Magenta, "We'll be back." Eve told them.

Magenta walked up to Serenity and placed the flowers she was holding onto the bed. "Feel better soon; we miss you at the lunch table." The words were surprisingly kind coming from Magenta. Then they watched as those two left.

Serenity looked at the remaining five then noticed that they all seemed slightly uncomfortable, Will spoke next, "I forgot something in the car, I'll be back."

"I'll come with you." Layla told him, the couple left the room.

Zach and Ethan looked at each other then back at Serenity, "Yeah we don't have an excuse so we'll just be outside."

"Thanks for being honest." She told them as they left, closing the door behind them. She looked at the only one remaining, Warren. "So…?"

"So…" He walked over to the bed side, "How much do actually remember?"

"Most of it…just up until the energy ball exploded though there are some things that I remember." She looked at him, 'Soft warm lips…kind words that I'll probably never hear from him again…and…wait a minute.' She hit him.

"Ow. What was that for?" He glared down at her.

"You stole my first kiss!" She glared back at him.

"Yeah, to get you to wake up!"

"But it was my first…Tell me, Warren Peace, what exactly are you going to do about it?" She continued to glare at him, though she could see that glint in his eyes. It was the same glint she had seen the same day she had started running away from him.

He leaned in close enough that their breath intermingled, "Then I'll just have to steal your third." He kissed her but pulled away quickly, "And fourth." He kissed her again only a bit longer this time and a little more demanding. He pulled away again and looked at her this time, her eyes were wide and her face was flushed.

'Well I'm officially confused.' She blinked, "What are you doing?"

"And now your fifth." He kissed her again and he felt her eyes close this time. He smiled against her lips and then pulled away enough for her to breathe.

"But what about…" She was cut off by him kissing her again. This time she tried to kiss him back though she had never done this before. He pulled away more hesitantly this time, "Eve?" She continued her question just as their lips separated.

"Do you want to stop?" He asked.

"No." That one word was enough for him, he lifted her head up so that her lips were at an easier angle to access, and he kissed her again. Only this time it wasn't hesitant and his lips parted hers, his hands moved to her hair, though it was still pulled back into pigtails they had loosened enough for him to run his fingers through the white locks. Her right hand found its way into his hair and it undid the ponytail he had it in. The elastic slipped down her wrist as she played with his hair until his kissing capabilities made her forget what she was doing and all she could concentrate on the feeling of his lips on hers.

When his tongue slipped into her mouth they heard the heart monitor go flat for a second and he pulled away laughing. "Maybe we should continue this when you're not hooked up to a machine that might get me in trouble with your doctor."

She looked at him confusedly now that she was thinking coherently and her breathing was going back to normal, "Why'd you start counting at three?"

"I stole your first kiss when you were four." He grinned.

"And what happened with Evelynn?"

"We broke up." He told her flatly.

She eyed him suspiciously, "Why?"

"I found myself falling for a completely different girl." He told her.

Her hand covered her mouth, "Oh Warren? Why would you do that? For me of all people!"

"What was I supposed to do? Ignore it? Then what? What am I supposed to do when you're pretty much all I think about? Even if her father hadn't told her, she would have noticed eventually!" He snapped at her.

"You don't understand! I'm not worth it!" She looked down at her hands and her eyes got that older look in them and her tone became quiet. "I would have killed him…I had the chance to kill him and I would have taken it. I almost crossed that line and if I had then there would have been no coming back. And if I was willing to kill him then…what's to keep me from me killing another person?"

He smiled at her then stroked her hair, "You won't because you're no villain Serenity, you're a hero through and through to your very core. That's why Mia went with you, because she believed you were good."

She looked up at him again, "Speaking of Mia, what happened to her?"

There was a knock on the door and he went to it, "You'll see." He grinned.

The next Monday at Lunch:

"Do you have everything?" Lynda asked Serenity as she got out of the car.

"I think so." She muttered around her messenger bag's strap. One week of not going to school had severely increased her work load. She had a backpack on one of her shoulders, her duffle bag hung on her other shoulder and now her old messenger bag was in her mouth, it didn't help that the arm she used for carrying everything was in a sling. She shot a glare at the cast on her arm as Lynda walked over to her then took the messenger bag out of her mouth.

"Right or left side?" Lynda asked, as Serenity weighed both sides.

"Right, my duffle bag is heavier than my backpack." Lynda placed the bag onto her right shoulder.

"Okay I've got to get to the office. I'll see you after school." Lynda kissed her forehead, and then raised her arms, "Comets away!"

Serenity cringed back as the comet flew away. "That thing still gets brighter every time she uses it." She looked at her watch, which had been moved to her bag strap for convenience. "I've still got time…guess I could head to the cafeteria." She looked down at her bags, "Okay locker first then the cafeteria."

She walked down the hall trying not to blush, even though everyone was whispering she somehow knew they were talking about her. She looked ahead, and noticed long black hair pulled into a ponytail "No…" She whispered then rubbed her eyes to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her and they weren't. She placed down her bags and suddenly she understood why Layla squealed whenever she was excited. "MIA!"

Mia turned to look at whoever shouted her name that's when she saw Serenity running towards her. She quickly closed her locker and began running away but it was pointless Serenity was faster than she was. The next thing she knew she was on the floor with Serenity sitting on her. She looked at the straight ahead as she muttered, "Don't tackle someone when you have a broken arm."

* * *

><p>Warren, Will, and Layla turned the corner on their way back from the cafeteria when they heard it. "MIA!" They looked ahead to see streaks of white chasing after a streak of black. They watched as the white tackled the black.<p>

"Is that…" Layla started.

"Serenity?" Will finished. "I thought she wasn't supposed to be back until next week."

"So did I." Warren raised an eyebrow at Serenity as she sat of Mia.

Serenity looked down at Mia, "I can't believe it! You're going here!"

"Yeah, some government organization offered me and my mom funding until she can get back on her feet and into the world again." Mia rolled and Serenity fell off of her, "And until my mother's out of the hospital Principal Powers offered me a room at your place."

Serenity's eyes widened and glittered with excitement, "Ooh! How exciting!" She paused, "How is your mom doing by the way?"

"She woke up yesterday and was still a little confused when I left. I'm going back today." Mia's eyes got a faraway look in them.

"Don't worry! She'll remember you…and when she does you can tell her that Brian can no longer hurt you or her." Serenity smiled, "Right?"

"Right." Mia smiled back. That's when she noticed the three watching them, "So tell me, what's going on between you and Mr. Tall, Dark and Broody over there?"

Serenity looked over and blushed, "There's nothing going on-" Mia raised an eyebrow. "Maybe? I don't know, we never actually specified what was going on between us."

"You should probably find out don't you think?" Mia told her as she got up, she then helped Serenity up.

Serenity looked at the three who were obviously waiting for them and then they walked over. "Hi guys." She smiled.

"What happened to you being back next week?" Warren asked.

"It turns out that I heal quickly so they let me out a week early though I've still got to wear the cast for a couple of more days until they can heal my wrist fully." She shrugged and began picking up the bags she had dropped. She had managed to get the first two on alright but once again her messenger bag was causing her problems.

Warren let out a sigh then took it from her, throwing it over his shoulder. "We'll see you guys on the bus." He took her hand and walked her to her classroom.

The blush on her face increased, "People are staring." She told him.

"Let them." He told her as they arrived at her classroom. "I'll see you on the bus, okay?"

She nodded as she took her bag from him, "Yeah I'll see you." She turned.

He looked into the classroom and saw Jason sitting there, "Hey Serenity, one more thing." She turned back to look at him again. His hand lifted her chin up and his lips descended onto hers. He kissed her until she was flushed and breathless. When he pulled away he grinned mischievously then looked at Jason to make sure he had seen and he had. "Alright I'll see you on the bus."

"Okay." She turned to look into the sidekick class and saw everyone staring at her with wide but intrigued eyes.

Three years later:

Serenity's eyes opened and she let out a long groan into the couch's throw pillow. When she finished she wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes, "How long do you plan on torturing me Warren?" She muttered then turned off the television then looked at the photo album on the table, "I guess this is my own damn fault for looking at those stupid pictures…Just once I'd like to be able to sleep without dreaming about you." She closed her eyes again and tried to get some sleep.


	15. Graduation

(A/N: What's this? It's all been a memory and now were stuck three years in the future? So how has Warren been torturing Serenity? All shall be revealed! Enjoy =D)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Fifteen: Graduation

Serenity woke up when she felt someone staring at her. She opened the eye that wasn't completely covered by the throw pillow. She saw her two year old cousin staring at her, "Munchie?" She asked as she turned to look at the girl fully, "What are you doing out of your cage-I mean crib?"

"Locks came undone." She told Serenity.

"Munchie! You know you're not supposed to do that!" Serenity sat up as she noticed the girl's blue eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Why are you down here?"

"Munchie hungee." The girl told her.

"Oh really? You came down here to tell me that? What about your mother?" Serenity looked at the girl skeptically. Then they both crinkled their noses, "Right good point." She stretched, "Let's go see what we have." She stood then took the smaller girl's hand and led her into the kitchen.

"How about cereal?" Serenity asked as she dug into the cupboard. The girl's face crinkled again, "Okay…" She went to the freezer and pulled out a box, "Okay how about waffles?" Once again the girl's face crinkled. "Then what do you want?"

"Pancakes!" The girl's hands rose into the air with excitement.

"How about these?" Serenity pulled out a box but once again the girl's face crinkled. "You want me to make them don't you?" The girl nodded, "Okay fine."

"Yay!"

"But you have to be good while I do it okay?" Serenity began taking out the goods from the cupboards, she watched as the girl opened the fridge and brought her the butter. "Oh are you going to help me?"

"Yeah!"

Serenity had just begun heating up the frying pan, while Munchie played with a bowl of flour, when they heard a man's voice. "Mary-Lynette! Where are you?"

Munchie looked up at the sound of her full name being called but couldn't move because she had been strapped into her high chair. Serenity called out, "She's down here with me Uncle Rob!"

They watched as the man ran down the stairs, "Oh thank God! Mary-Lynette what have we told you about sneaking out of your crib?" He looked at the two girls. "What happened here?"

"We're making pancakes." Serenity told him. She looked at the man who until almost three years ago she knew nothing about. She had found out one night that her aunt had started seeing someone; of course she had to meet the guy before anything serious could happen. Turns out the guy was completely normal and a totally sweet cheese ball. Not even two weeks after she had met the guy, they announced their engagement. It wasn't until after the ceremony that she had found out it had been a shotgun wedding.

"So why does Mary-Lynette have a bowl of flour?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Serenity swore that he was the only person who called Munchie by her legal name all the time.

"Well I had to keep her busy somehow." She crossed her arms, she loved her uncle but there were times she wished he was less overprotective.

Lynda ran down the stairs, "Where's Mary-Lynette?"

"She's here." Serenity told her as she walked into the kitchen. "Wait what are you all dressed up for?"

Both of the adults looked at her, "It's your graduation ceremony today." Rob reminded her.

"Oh…right. I think I'll pass. I'll stay home and watch Munchie." Serenity told them.

"Why don't you want to go?" Lynda asked.

Serenity turned back to the frying pan as she poured some batter into it. "Don't feel like it."

"Mommy! Sernity slept on couch last night." Munchie told Lynda.

"Oh really? And why's that?" Lynda crossed her arms.

Serenity's back prickled as her aunt glared at her, "Because I passed out watching TV."

"And this has nothing to do with that photo album I saw on the table?" Lynda's voice got softer, "He could come back…"

"He's not coming back! It's been almost three freaking years! There is no way in hell Warren Peace is coming back!" It had been 1031 days, not that she was counting, since she had last seen him. He had left at the end of August just before the first day of her junior year at Sky High.

There was a long pause of silence until Munchie slammed her hands down in the bowl of flour causing it to fly everywhere. When the cloud of flour disappeared they all looked at Munchie, whose hair was now almost as white as Serenity's and her face was covered in flour. Serenity took one look at Munchie, tried not to laugh but failed. "Yay! Sernity laughed!" Munchie clapped her hands.

"I'm glad you two think this is funny." Lynda told them with a scowl. "I'm the one who's going to have to get her cleaned up now and I just took a shower too."

Serenity handed Rob the spatula, then took Munchie in her arms, "It's my fault she had the flour so I'll go get her cleaned up." She walked out of the room.

"And while you're at it, get yourself ready for the ceremony you have three hours." Lynda called after her.

"I have nothing to wear." Serenity called back.

"Check your closet!"

"Fine!"

"You haven't told her?" Rob looked at Lynda with a raised eyebrow.

"He told me to keep it a secret."

* * *

><p>Serenity ran Munchie's hair under her showerhead, "There that should be all of the flour." She began towel drying the girl's hair, "Now can you be good until I'm done my shower?"<p>

"Yeah!" Serenity watched as Munchie walked out of the bathroom and she kept the door open in case anything happened.

Munchie walked around Serenity's room, trying to find something to do. She found her coloring book and her crayons then set herself down on the floor. It didn't take her long to get bored of coloring, so she got up and looked around for something else to do. She went up to Serenity's vanity and lifted herself up onto the chair. She looked at the vast assortment of makeup sitting there. She picked up one and pretended to put it on without actually opening it. It was going smoothly until she dropped a container on the floor and it busted open, causing a powdery substance to fly everywhere.

Serenity had just turned off the water when she heard the sound of something hitting her floor. She quickly wrapped a towel around her as she ran outside. "Munchie are you alright?"

"Munchie sorry! Munchie broke it!" The two year old began bawling.

Serenity didn't even notice the container on the floor but instead looked at Munchie checking to see if she was hurt in anyway. "Are you hurt?"

"Munchie broke it!" The girl continued to bawl.

Serenity forced her to look at her, "What'd you break?" Her eyes followed Munchie's finger to the small container. Serenity picked it up ignoring the spot of color on the carpet then carefully put the lid back on. "See nothing to worry about." The small container of blue eye shadow was already almost empty when it had been dropped. "How about I do your hair and then you can go get some breakfast."

"YAY!" Was all Munchie could say when she thought of Serenity fixing her hair.

Serenity brushed out the small girl's hair then pulled it back into two ponytails at the top of her head. She then pulled out her array of mascara, "Which color do you want?"

Munchie pulled out the white one from Serenity's hand. She loved the color of white, it was the same color of her mother when she powered up and it was the same color as Serenity's hair. She sat impatiently as Serenity added the mascara to her bangs and her ponytails. She heard the mascara slide back into its container and heard Serenity tighten the lid. "I can go show mommy now?" Munchie asked, trying not to bounce with excitement.

"Let's both go show her so she doesn't freak out." Serenity went over to her bed and pulled the robe off of it.

They walked upstairs and into the kitchen, Serenity had moved downstairs when she found out Lynda was pregnant, Lynda looked at the two, then noticed the white in Munchie's brown locks. "What did you do?" Lynda looked at Serenity.

"It's just mascara it'll wash out. But doesn't she look adorable?" Serenity raised an eyebrow.

"Of course she looks adorable; I was just worried you had dyed her hair." Lynda told her honestly.

"Your faith in me kind of hurts." Serenity picked up Munchie and placed her in her high chair. "I'm going to go get dressed." She told them as Rob gave Munchie her pancakes.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the school fifteen minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start, that's when Serenity noticed everyone was there. Helen waved and she carried a video camera, Will and Layla stood with an arm around the other, Zach and Magenta waved from their seats while Ethan talked to Evelynn beside him. Serenity walked over, "Okay don't get me wrong I'm glad to see everyone here, but why?"<p>

Layla grinned, "Like we'd miss your graduation."

"We saved you some seats." Will told Rob and Munchie.

Helen hugged Serenity, "I can't believe you're graduating! It seems like just yesterday that you were a little girl. Hope would be so proud of you."

Serenity smiled, "Thanks Helen. But I should get going the line seems to be forming." She quickly said her goodbyes then went to find her place behind Mia in the lineup.

"You'd think that since you're the principal's niece that you would have been here first." Mia muttered.

"You try having a two year old; who wanted to come in her flour covered tinged blue with eye shadow pajamas, living with you." Serenity mumbled.

They watched as Mr. Boy began reading off the names of students from their graduating class. By the time Mr. Boy had gotten to the last names that started with P, Serenity was trying her best not to yawn. "Mia Pendragon!" Mr. Boy called. Serenity watched as Mia walked up the stairs, trying not to trip.

"Now this next student I'm very pleased to call upon, she single handily raised a revolution for our hero-support class. Let me be the one to proudly introduce the one and only…Serenity Powers!" There was an uproar of clapping from her fellow sidekicks.

She walked up the stairs blushing. "Did you really have to introduce me like that?" She asked quietly so that the microphone didn't pick it up.

"Do you want to make a speech?" Mr. Boy asked.

She sighed as she heard the rest of her classmates yelled for her to make a speech, "Fine." She muttered as she took the microphone. She walked out into the middle of the stage and she waited for the uproar of claps and cheers to stop. "It's been a long four years, first we had seen the beginning of tears in the hero and hero-support wall that separated the two groups, which I somehow started apparently. Then we had seen the great battle of hero versus hero-support, which with the strength of a few of heroes I could mention, we won. Will Stronghold, Layla Williams, Mia Pendragon please take a stand," She encouraged the action by clapping and the three finally stood up and took a bow. "Of course we all had to do at least a month of detention after that. Then finally we shattered that barrier during our sophomore year when my favorite person caused everyone to fall in love with her. Mary-Lynette you probably deserve the biggest round of applause out of everyone here, you not only stopped us from killing each other but you also brought us closer together. Finally we hit senior year and our revolution worked, we of hero-support got better classrooms and we're finally allowed to order hero sandwiches in the cafeteria. But we wouldn't be here…" She dodged an energy ball that was thrown at her, "Don't make me kick your butt again Damien because I swear I will!" She coughed, and then heard the faintest sounds of a motorcycle engine. "Where was I? Right. We wouldn't be here today if we all hadn't worked together to defeat that behemoth of a monster this year. What I mean to say is…" She watched as a motorcycle flew by 'And now I'm seeing things during my victory speech.' "What I mean to say is that we finally did it! We finished high school. Congratulations joint hero and hero-support classes of…" She watched as the motorcycle crashed into the ground. "What the…?" She watched as everyone turned to the back where the person who had been riding the motorcycle stood up and brushed themselves off.

The person pulled of their helmet then looked directly at Serenity, who had already realized who he was. "Am I late?" He asked loud enough for her to hear.

"Warren." She whispered into the microphone, she quickly handed it off to Mr. Boy then began running across the stage then down the stairs.

"Seriously?" Jason called from his spot in the lineup, 'Of course this would happen, I finally get the courage to ask her out on another date and Warren freaking Peace shows up…again!'

Warren smiled as Serenity ran up to him though his smile faltered when he saw the conflicted emotions on her face. She reached him then something in her eyes caused him to clench his teeth. Her fist hit his face hard enough that when the contact ended he rubbed his jaw. She then pulled on his shirt forcing him to move to more her height as she pressed her lips against his causing him to relax and kiss her back. Her hands laced themselves into his hair pulling him closer to her. She deepened the kiss; her tongue slipped inside his mouth and she tasted the bitter metallic taste of blood which made her regret hitting him first.

When she pulled away he made a disapproving noise, but the look in her eye made him not say anything. She glared, "Where the hell have you been?" She snapped, "Do you have any idea how worried I was…or did you even think about much you'd hurt your mother?" She opened her mouth again but a small hand grabbed hers causing her to look down. "What's wrong Munchie?"

"Prince Charming?" Munchie asked.

Serenity snorted, "Please more like Prince Pain in the butt."

Warren looked down at the girl who had taken all of Serenity's attention away from him in seconds, something not even Mia had been able to do. He watched as Serenity knelt in front of the girl adoringly. He looked at the girl again, she had to be no more than two, her dark brown hair had streaks of white in it and she looked at Serenity with wide innocent blue eyes, they weren't the same Caribbean blue eyes as Serenity's but they were darker. "Serenity who's this?"

She pulled Munchie into her arms and picked her up. "Warren, this is Mary-Lynette Powers." She wasn't sure why the women in her family insisted on keeping their maiden names when they got married but they always did and they always passed it on to their kids. Serenity kissed Munchie's cheek, "Munchie you still taste like flour, you're going to need a bath tonight"

The girl pouted, but Warren brought Serenity's attention back to him. "And when was she born?"

"At the beginning of May, she just turned two. Right?" She brought her attention back to Munchie. She was glad that she had something solid to hold on to so that she didn't have to look at him, she didn't want to get lost in those almost black eyes of his, not again.

He counted the months after he left and felt the blood leave his face. 'Did I leave her alone with a child? Did I leave her alone with our child?'

Layla ran over and they noticed that the ceremony had continued. "Oh this is where she went." Layla avoided looking at Warren, "Do you want me to take her?"

"Layla do me a favor, tell her that she still tastes like flour and she needs a bath tonight." Serenity told her.

Layla kissed Munchie's cheek then tasted flour on her lips, "Hate to say it Munchie, but she's right."

"Boo!" Munchie reached for Layla and Layla took her.

"I'll take her to go sit down…Remember Mrs. Peace's place afterwards no skipping out. You should make a brief appearance too, Warren, considering it is your mother's house." Layla told him as she walked off.

"Serenity…" His voice was quiet; when she looked at him again she saw how pale he was.

"Warren, what's wrong? You're pale." She placed her hand on his cheek and her thumb rubbed it, trying to bring some blood back into it.

"Did I…Did we…Is she…" He was stuttering. Warren Peace didn't stutter so he swallowed hard and looked her square in the eyes. "Is Mary-Lynette ours?"

Serenity blinked at him and shock appeared on her face, then she tapped her chin. "I suppose the timeline would like right to someone who hasn't been here for three years…but no she's not ours. She's my cousin, Auntie Lynda got married and she and her husband had a baby. But don't worry you're not the only person who thought Munchie was…ours." She seemed hesitant to say the word. "I actually gained a lot of weight while Auntie was pregnant because she didn't want to eat our strange craving concoctions alone, so I ate with her." She smiled bitterly and her voice oozed sarcasm, "Besides last time I checked you ignored all of my advances and I'm still a virgin. By the way, thanks for that…it didn't ruin my ego or anything." She headed back to where her classmates were standing.

'Okay her being angry was to be expected…but that sounded hateful.' He shook his head then took a seat at the back of the chairs. "Looks like I've got a party to go to." He muttered to himself as the ceremony continued.

* * *

><p>"Seriously, Warren, where the hell have you been?" Will asked him as he handed him a drink.<p>

"Around." He didn't take his eyes off of the girl dancing in the living room in front of him. "When did she dye her bangs black?"

"Junior year, for her I mean. She and Mia went all yin and yang on the school." Will told him as he took a sip of his glass. "And you can drink that, it's just pop. I know you're driving so I wasn't going to spike your drink. Plus your mom's keeping the booze hidden until after Munchie leaves."

"And Mary-Lynette is Principal Powers' kid? She wasn't lying to me was she?" Warren took a sip of his drink.

"She is, though there was a rumor going around that you knocked her up and that's why you left."

Warren choked on his drink and started coughing, "Okay who started that rumor?"

"What did you expect to happen? She went to her Aunt's wedding without a date and then she started gaining weight." Will looked at him, "Are you even remotely aware that she tried to keep you leaving a secret?"

Layla ran up, "Sorry to interrupt guys. But, Will, there is a lady waiting for you on the dance floor."

Will raised an eyebrow then he saw Munchie blushing. "Well then I guess I shouldn't keep her waiting should I?" He walked onto the dance floor

"Do all of you know her?" Warren called after him.

Mia stood next to him as they watched Serenity sit down, "So are you back, back? Or are you just here until midnight and then you turn into a pumpkin again?"

"I'm back, now what do you want Mia?" He growled.

"I'm just making sure that you won't bail on her again. So I suppose I'll let you talk to her." He began moving and she placed a hand on his chest then pushed him back into the wall. "I didn't say we're done…" She smiled and her white bangs moved enough for him to see her eyes which had nearly gone black. "Know this and know this well Warren, if you hurt her again I will kill you."

A chill went up his spine as she let him walk by and to the couch where Serenity sat. "Can I sit here?"

"It's your house." She reminded him as she watched Will and Munchie dance.

"Right." He sat down. "I want to talk to you…"

"So then talk." Her eyes still remained on Munchie, though she knew nothing would happen while she was with Will.

"Privately."

"I'm babysitting."

"Stronghold has things covered here." She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Okay fine, what will it take for me to have five minutes of your time?"

"You had an entire year so whatever it is can't be that important!" She snapped. 'That's right, Serenity, stay angry. Don't let him see how much you like hearing the sound of his voice. Don't let him know how much you missed the feel of the warmth from his body.' She could feel tears flood her eyes and she got up. She quickly walked over to Will, said two words then headed across the room.

Warren was two steps behind her as she reached the stairs and his hand grabbed her wrist. "Please Serenity!"

She stopped, she wasn't sure why she stopped, maybe it was because of the familiarity from the feeling of his hand on her wrist, or maybe it was because of the pleading in his words. "Fine! My aunt's on her way. Munchie wanted to have her last dance with Will before she had to leave. We can leave then."

Lynda arrived only minutes later, eager to go home and relax. "Serenity! Munchie!"

"Mommy!" Munchie squealed from where she sat on Serenity's lap.

"Hey Munchie! Were you good?" Lynda picked her up while she gave Serenity a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry you had to watch her during your graduation party. So was she good?"

"Don't worry about it and yes she was a perfect angel." Serenity told her.

"What'd you bribe her with?"

"A dance with Will Stronghold."

Lynda nodded, "So are you coming home with us?" Her eyes drifted to where Warren stood. "Or are you staying here for a bit?"

"Actually Auntie…I was planning to leave with Warren…if that's alright with you." Serenity closed her eyes.

Lynda smiled, "Alright, call me if you plan to stay over and thank you for being honest." She kissed her cheek quickly then headed to leave, while Munchie waved to everyone.

Warren and Serenity left just minutes after they heard Lynda's car pull out of the driveway. They rode on his motorcycle and he drove to some unknown apartment building. He covered her eyes and led her to where ever they were going. "Warren, where are we going?" She asked not worried but just annoyed that she couldn't see, despite everything she still trusted him to keep her safe.

"Do you trust me?" He asked but she hesitated, "Okay, stupid question. Do you at least trust me to know where I'm going?"

"Yes." She whispered as they got out of what she assumed was an elevator.

"Okay I'm going to move my hands, don't open your eyes." She felt his hands move and then heard the sounds of keys unlocking a door. He took her hand and led her inside where she felt cool air hit her. "Alright you can open them."

She opened her eyes and looked at first she only saw black and red but on occasion she saw white or blue. She identified most of the black or red as furniture or some other main part of the room. The white or blue was usually just something small that had no meaning, a small white ceramic cat with blue eyes sitting on the black coffee table caught her eye the most. "I don't know what to say…besides that cat creeps me out." She looked at him and all the tension he had held at the party was gone. "Is this where you've been since you left?"

"Yeah…Do you want something to drink? I didn't see you take anything at the party." He walked towards the kitchen that was still attached to the room they were standing in, which she assumed was the living room.

She laughed, "Who has time to drink anything when they're watching a two year old?" She followed him into the kitchen, where things were more white and blue then black and red. She realized this was a mistake because he left his back exposed to her and her first instinct, the one that told her she still loved him, was to mold her body to his. She swallowed down her first instinct then asked, "Is it okay if I look around?"

"Huh? Yeah sure." He waited to hear her move and smirked when she didn't.

'Come on Serenity, turn around and walk away…stop staring at his butt damn it!' She scolded herself. She quickly turned on her heel before he could realize she had been watching him with great interest. She ignored the blush on her face while she walked around his apartment. 'Staring at his butt…he can't know. He's not allowed to know that you still care for him.' She paused to think about it, 'And yes that means you're not allowed to be attracted to him either!' She noticed a door cracked open and she opened it a bit more. She peaked inside and the thing she saw made her walk inside.

Warren looked around trying to find her then noticed his bedroom door was open, "Figures she'd find the one room I was saving for last." He muttered as he walked in quietly so he didn't disturb her. He walked up behind her and only his arm showed as he handed her a glass. "Enjoying the view?"

She took the glass, "Yes…it's beautiful. I'm officially jealous that you get to go to sleep with this sitting outside your window." She motioned to the view of city lights in front of her, but then the coldness of her glass finally made her look down at it. She looked at him suspiciously.

"Don't worry. It's just pop; I remember what happened at my graduation party." He smiled around his drink, "You spent the night sleeping in the bathroom."

She smiled kindly, "You were right there beside me the entire night."

"And the next morning." He put his drink down on the window ledge.

"You missed your own party just to keep my hair out of the toilet." She tried not to fall for that grin of his again. "Warren…" Her eyes pleaded with him. "I can't."

"Can't what? Have I been gone so long that you've forgotten everything we've been through? Or is there someone else? Or is it that you hate me so much that the idea of us starting where we left off is impossible? What is it that you can't do?" There was a fire in his eyes.

Her mouth opened in shock at that last statement, "I don't hate you…and there isn't anyone else. And I haven't forgotten anything! How could you even think that?" She snapped.

"Then what is it that you can't do?" He snapped back.

"I can't afford to fall anymore in love with you then I already have." She lost all of her will to fight. He opened his mouth again but she shook her head, "I can't…if you leave again I won't survive it. I've spent the last three years dreaming about you, thinking about you and crying over you. I can't go through that again, I just can't. I love you, Warren; I've loved you since I spent Christmas Eve with you and your mom." She swallowed past the tears, "You smiled at me and then the only thing that mattered was you. But then you left with no explanation, no warning. You just left…why?" She needed to know, if she got one thing out of opening old wounds it would be the answer she had wanted to hear for the past 1031 days.

"Because I was afraid." He took a deep breath; this was going to be difficult. "I was afraid that if you and I continued, that'd I'd do something you'd regret. You were still a girl back then, young and very inexperienced." He looked at her but it obviously wasn't clicking in. So he walked over to her and took her face into his hands. "I couldn't keep my eyes off you, and I could barely keep my hands off of you when we were at school. So every night when I hadn't occupied all of my free time with you, I spent thinking about what I could have done. Where my lips could have caressed your skin, how you would have reacted when they did. Then I wondered would you have pushed me away, with wide and confused eyes, or would you have let me continue with exploring your body. And then when you'd sleep over, I'd get lost in these stupid little fantasies where your hair was carelessly underneath your gasping body while I ravished you." He cursed the fact that he admitting this. "But then you started to wear short skirts and when you'd come and sleep over you'd make it blatantly obvious that you weren't wearing a bra."

"But that was because I wanted you to see me as something other than a 'Little Girl'." She interjected.

"But you weren't ready!" He snapped, "I saw it every time you looked at me. You were still young and naïve, you were still in love with the idea of being in love."

"Warren…"

"You weren't ready," He whispered, "So I left but don't think I didn't spend the last 1031 days thinking about you. Every time you crossed my mind, I had to buy something white or blue."

"That explains the kitchen." She muttered, as she tried to look away but his hands kept her from moving. But now that she thought about it, had she been ready back in her freshmen year? She had been nervous and excited…and always wondering what it would be like but did that mean she was ready? She had known the risks of having a senior for a boyfriend but something had told her that she hadn't been ready.

"And then there were the dreams…" His voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Dreams?"

"Every night I'd dream of long comet white hair and Caribbean blue eyes."

"Strange…every night I'd dream of smoldering eyes and warm inviting lips…" She paused then laughed, "We're a really messed up pair, aren't we?"

"And I love every minute of it." He smiled then brushed her hair to the side and his lips moved to her ear, "I love you and don't worry I'm not going anywhere." She knew that if she hadn't been paying attention she would have missed it, his voice was that low.

She felt her heart race and suddenly she knew that if they were going to get back together it would have to be now while both of them were unguarded. So she kissed him and all of the emotions that she had felt over the past three years came flowing into that kiss; her pain came first then the betrayal she felt from him leaving and then finally all of the love that she had for him poured into it. When she pulled away he could barely remember his name the only thing he could fully remember was the fact that she hadn't been that good of a kisser when he left. "Warren?" She asked.

"I've missed you." He whispered.

Her heart sped up and suddenly she knew that she was ready. She loved him and he loved her back so why couldn't they be together? She stood on her tiptoes and her arms wrapped around his neck. She whispered as blush covered her face, "Show me." She pulled away enough to look him in the eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked and when she nodded his lips pressed against hers. He only pulled away to silently ask permission as his hands slid her dress off and he led her to the bed.

* * *

><p>"That was…" Serenity thought about a word to describe it as Warren ran his hand down her back. "I don't even have a word for it."<p>

"Amazing?" He offered.

"Not strong enough…" She looked up at him, "So now what?"

"It's up to you." He kissed her head.

She shook her head, "It's up to us."

He grinned, "I like the sound of that. So is there an us?"

"I hope so! After that there better be an us!" She blushed.

"Good." He rolled so that she was under him as he gave her a devilish smirk. He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her.


	16. Epilogue: Surprises

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to its legal owners

Epilogue: Surprises

Eight Years Later:

The sound of her boots hitting the floor echoed as she walked down the hallway, her meeting with some unnamed correctional officer was about to start. She stifled a shutter as her earpiece vibrated and she pressed the button, "Hello?

"Where are you?" Mia's voice screamed in her ear.

"Don't yell please, my earpiece is in. Did you get those files I asked for?"

"I don't see why I had to do it; you have the same clearance as I do." Mia asked clearly annoyed. "But I sent them to your travel-com."

"Thank you, you're the best hero any sidekick could wish for." A guard opened the door for her, "Okay I gotta go, I'll see you tonight."

"Serenity, be careful, he's dangerous remember that." Mia warned her.

Serenity laughed, "Ha-ha I laugh in the face of danger!"

"You need to lay off the Disney." Mia told her as she hung up.

"It's good to see you're on time Ms. Powers, you government agents are never on time." The man in the desk caught her attention, she couldn't sense any sort of power inside of him.

'What are they doing sending a human to guard a prison for super villains?' She questioned the way the government ran things. 'Perhaps I should become a politician…' She smiled, "I have all of the forms filled out, so is it okay if I go and see him?" She pulled out some forms, eager to get this over with.

"Do you have his next of kin with you?" The man asked.

'Jason didn't say anything about that!' She cursed the man who was waiting back at the office for her. "Right about that…this whole thing is supposed to be a surprise for his next of kin."

"Then I can't let you in, just as I can't let him out without a next of kin present." The man told her as he read the papers she had handed to him. "And I definitely can't let him out without armed forces following him, and you want to keep for two days? Are you mad?"

She raised an eyebrow then shrugged, "Probably, but you've got to be a little crazy when dealing with Hero/Sidekicks related politics. Otherwise you end up blowing up the meeting room." The last part wasn't a joke.

"Little miss, how long have you been working for the system?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Five years, not including my training." She winced; they always questioned her on this.

"Right well I've been here almost as long as the Commander's been bringing people in." He got out of his chair and walked over to her, standing nearly a foot higher than her. "So you think you can just walk right in here with your level six clearance,"

She corrected him, "Level seven clearance."

He glared down at her, "Like everyone here with just go along with you childish whims." He placed a hand on her shoulder to turn her around and march her out of his office, but she just looked up at him and smiled.

She placed her hands on his wrist and she threw him across the room, the smile on her face never leaving her lips. She knelt by where he laid, "See now I wanted to get this over with because there are some things I still need to get done before tomorrow. Your level six clearance superior is a really good friend of mine and he set me up with all of the right paper work, then he worked his butt off to make sure that this worked out even though his superiors were against it at first."

"How do you know my superior? I want proof." He watched as her smile grew.

"I really didn't want to pull the superior card, but you left me no choice." She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number. "Jason, I filled out all of that paper work but you left out a crucial part that I needed a next of kin. So now this nice correction officer won't let me in to see him." She looked down at the man next to her and handed her phone to him.

He took the phone and carefully held it to his ear, "Yes, sir…yes sir. By Friday? Yes sir." He handed the phone back to her.

"Thank you," She smiled brightly, "Thank you Jason." She nodded, "Yeah I'll see you as soon as I'm done. Are you going out with the guys tonight? Oh that's good." She watched as the guard opened the door and waited for her before he left to show her the way. "Okay Jason, I got to go, I'll see you soon."

The guard led her down the hall then opened a door and waited for her to walk in. When she did he spoke, "It'll take us fifteen minutes to get him down here can you wait here for that long?"

"Yes…and can you guys not turn on the room's neutralizers?" He looked at her like she was crazy, "They won't be needed." He just nodded and walked away. The door closed behind him and she used the reflective window to pull her hair into an elaborate bun. She pulled a wig out of her bag and slipped it on. She looked into the mirror and scowled, brown was not her color. She checked to see if any white was showing and there wasn't, "Mia was right, I should have gone with black, but alas it's too late for that now." She pulled out a set of sunglasses and placed them on her nose. 'Dear Work: I love your products.' She smiled; she was able to see everything clearly without anyone being able to see her eyes. There was a knock on the door and she sat down while she pulled out her travel-com. She quickly slipped off her ring and placed it back in its box. "Enter."

The guard entered with an older man, "He's all yours."

"You can remove his shackles." She told them, the guard looked at her like she was crazy once again but did as she said. "Mr. Battle, please take a seat."

Barren Battle walked over but didn't sit down, he continued to eye her suspiciously, "They tell me you said not to turn on the neutralizers, why?"

"So that you could give yourself a workout while we talked." She looked at him.

"But…?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What exactly makes you think there's a but?"

"Because there's always a but, however or an and." He stretched, "However it feels good not to have to wear those stupid shackles anymore." She felt the temperature in the small room rise then watched as his hands and arms lit on fire.

"How does it feel to be able to power up again after twenty some odd years?"

"Good." He powered down to look at her then decided to sit down. "So what is it you want? You must some big shot if you can get me of all people out of solitary confinement."

"I'm here to do a progress report, to see if we can use you."

"How and for what?"

"To do missions for the government, we could always use new heroes."

He laughed, "I'm not sure if you noticed but I'm no hero."

"You were once." She whispered causing him to really look at her.

'Hope?' He thought to himself. The girl sitting in front of him looked strangely like Hope, but he knew that couldn't be possible. "What's in it for me?"

"Every mission you complete without civilian casualties you get two years off of your sentence, and you get something you've yearned for the past twenty seven years." He looked at her, "Freedom."

His eyes widened, "How? Just who are you?"

"Your track record has been good so far, I mean besides that one time you got into a fight with someone." She looked at the name, "Brian Pendragon?"

"You know him?"

"The hell did he do to piss you off?"

"He killed my wife's best friend?"

"You're not legally married." She reminded him.

"It was a common law marriage and my will does leave everything to her." He shrugged.

"So why else did you start that fight? It says here that he said something in the cafeteria and you tackled him?"

"He insulted my godchild, he deserved that broken nose."

"And your godchild is…?"

"Serenity Powers. She was four the last time I saw her."

"I see…" She looked at her travel-com and typed something.

He looked at her, "So what is it that you get out of this? No one comes here and specifically asks for me, mainly not some government agent."

"Personal reasons." She told him without looking up.

"Like what?"

"It's for a friend of mine," She looked up, "Speaking of friends…what are your opinions on the Commander?"

"I hate him."

"How much?"

"So much that the next time I see him, I'll kill him."

"What a shame." She shook her head and began to pack up.

"What?"

"Looks like I can't help you after all." She looked at him again, 'Fall for it! Fall for it!'

"Why not?"

"Because the Commander's son is a friend of mine and I don't want to be the reason his father died…though perhaps a test is in order."

"What sort of test?"

"But that might not work either…"

He stood up, "Whatever it is, if it'll get me out of here and let me use my powers, I'll do it whether or not I can get my revenge on the Commander."

She grinned and pulled off her sunglasses then quickly removed the wig. Her white locks tumbled out as she replaced the ring on her finger and he looked at her with shock. "I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Battle, it seems like you have some paper work to fill out."

"Serenity? What you doing here?" He sat down.

"I'm here to get you out of here for a couple of days, though what we said about needing heroes wasn't a lie." He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "One of my many jobs is reforming villains." She pulled out some papers from her bag, "You're going to need to sign these."

"I expected many things from you but working for the government was not one of them." He took the pen she offered him.

"Hey, I earned this spot by starting a revolution for the sidekicks at Sky High…ah fun times."

"So what are you breaking me out for?" He watched as the smile on her face grew.

That Saturday:

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Mia asked as she fixed the veil on Serenity's head.

"Nope. But I'm going to do it anyways, I mean he forgave me for dating his best friend, he'll probably forgive me for this." She looked in the mirror, her dress pooled around her and the stool she sat on.

"You two only dated for two weeks, and this and that are two completely different things. This is-" Mia was cut off by Jason walking in.

"Are you two ready? It's almost time." He warned them.

"Jason! Did you bring him?" Serenity asked as she got up.

"Is it creepy for me to compliment you when I'm your best guy friend?" Jason asked.

"Compliments are always welcome." She hugged him.

"You look stunning." He told her as he slipped out of her embrace and smiled, "I brought him." Jason waved someone into the room. "Wait is it safe for him to be here?"

"Yeah Helen left about 15 minutes ago." Mia told him.

Barron Battle walked into the room while trying to adjust his tie, "You'd think after fifty some odd years they'd make these things easier to put on." He muttered as he looked up. "My my, little Serenity is all grown up."

"Are you going to cry, Barron?" Serenity asked, though she could feel the tears form in her own eyes.

"No…maybe." He smiled. "Hope would have been so proud of you."

"Woah! Woah! Don't make the bride cry before the ceremony!" Mia told them.

"I'm going to go take my spot, Serenity five minutes." He watched as her face paled. "Are you going to be alright?"

She took a deep breath, "Yeah I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"You'll be fine." Mia told her as she rubbed her back.

Serenity looked up at Barron, "Are you going to be alright?"

He laughed as she saw right through him, "Nervous…but that's to be expected after twenty two years."

Warren waited nervously while pacing back and forth. He looked up at Will who was watching him, "Dude chill see Jason's here, nothing to worry about."

"Says you, you and Layla have this amazing thing going, and she said yes the first time. It took us four times." Warren looked at him.

"That's because the first time you proposed was on her living room couch while babysitting Munchie. Not very romantic. The second time was after my bachelor party and you were wasted and it was over the phone. The third time she asked you but because you didn't have the ring yet, you said no. So then two weeks later when you got the ring you asked her again and she said yes." Will shook his head, "Dude, if that isn't love then I don't know what is."

"Is it natural to be nervous?" Warren asked.

"Zach…can you go slap him?" Will looked at Zach who nodded.

Zach walked up to Warren, "Sorry." He slapped him.

Warren shook his head, "Thanks I needed that. By the way, Zach, you slap like a girl." He grinned.

"Will you guys stop horsing around? It's about to start." Ethan told them.

The organ started to play, and they watched as Munchie came down the aisle tossing flower petals side to side. She was followed by Evelynn, then Magenta then Layla, who quickly blew Will a kiss before entering the room. Shortly behind Layla, Mia followed, clearly uncomfortable.

Zach looked at Jason, "Why's Mia so nervous?"

Jason shrugged trying to look innocent and straightened up as the bridal march started playing. Everyone stood and looked at the doorway. The whispers started the moment Serenity appeared in the doorway with Barron clearly holding her up. "Who's that?" Serenity heard them whisper and she could see Steve Stronghold tense but when she saw the look on Helen's face it made it all worth it.

"It can't be." Helen whispered as her hands covered her mouth and tears sprung to her eyes.

Warren's eyes had a hard time recognizing the man who led Serenity up to alter but the look on his mother's face made it all too clear it was his father. He watched as some unknown emotion flooded through him, and as soon as Serenity was standing beside him, he punched Barron with as much force as he could muster.

"Warren!" Serenity squeaked as her hands covered her mouth. "Don't kill him! I need to bring him back alive!"

He let out a huff, "And that was for not being there when she," He pointed to Helen, "needed you the most." His hand extended out and he helped Barron up. "Thanks for coming dad."

Barron rubbed his cheek, "It's her you should be thanking I had nothing to do with it. Treat her well Warren; she's the best thing that will ever happen to you." He winked at Serenity causing her to blush at the compliment. He then went over to Helen, instantly taking her hand and kissing her quickly before sitting down.

"Are we ready?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow. Serenity looked at Warren and blushed. With a slight nod from Warren, Steve opened the book in his hands. "We are gathered here today to unite Serenity Powers with Warren Peace in matrimony…"

'This is so not going to be legally binding.' Serenity thought, 'Though I guess we could just go fill out some forms next week.'

She started paying attention again when Warren started to speak, "Serenity, I know I don't say it often enough but you are everything to me. I stand here before you and these witnesses to prove how much I am willing to offer you. I promise that I'll stay beside you, no matter what, even if it means being there if you cut your hair and quit your job. I offer you this ring as a symbol of my promise to you." He took her left hand into his as he slipped a small gold band onto her ring finger.

She blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes, "Warren, I love you. You stole my first kiss when I was four and you have this strange idea that kisses make everything better. But you have an incredible ability to stop my heart with one of your devilish grins, while making the girls around us who just happen to catch it swoon and though you're hands may be tough I know that they're where mine belong in. When the time comes I'll fight your doubt and give you faith with this promise. I promise you Warren, in front of these witnesses, that it doesn't matter which path you walk I'll be right there beside you so you'll have someone to lean on when you can't stand up on your own anymore. I offer this ring to you as a symbol of my promise." She took his left hand into hers and slipped a thicker band on to his ring finger.

Steve looked at the two standing in front of him and thought it was a little silly to these next questions, "Do you Warren Peace take Serenity Powers to be your wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Serenity Powers take Warren Peace to be your husband?"

"I do." She smiled up at Warren.

"Then you may now kiss the bride." Steve told them.

Warren lifted up Serenity's veil and captured her lips with his. She pulled away first and when he let out quiet plead, she shook her head "Everyone's waiting."

"Right, I knew we should have eloped." He offered his arm to her and she slid hers in it as Mia handed Serenity her flowers.

"Your mother wouldn't have like that." She told him as they walked down the aisle.

"Okay she could have come, but that would have been it." He looked at her and grinned. "Have I told you how stunning you look today?"

"You haven't had the chance yet."

He kissed her cheek, "You look absolutely stunning."

"Thank you." They walked down the hall into a room set up with tables and a dance floor near the stage.

The evening continued, first with dinner then with the toasts. Ethan and Evelynn, who were acting as the MCs for the evening, spoke into the microphones. "Now traditionally the first dance of the evening is between the bride and her father but today we've got something different in mind." Ethan told them.

"A dance between the lovely bride and her uncle." Evelynn told them as she began clapping.

Rob got up and offered Serenity a hand, which she took and he led her to the dance floor. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Still a bit nervous…I keep thinking I might trip on my dress and embarrass myself in front of all these people." She laughed.

"You won't you've got more class then that." He spun them around the dance floor.

She looked at him, "I'm still impressed; I never pictured you as a dancer."

"I'm full of surprises, some of which your aunt doesn't even know about."

"Should I be weirded out by that?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe."

They had probably been dancing for five minutes when Lynda walked up with Munchie. "May we cut in?" Lynda asked.

Serenity smiled, "Looks like you're going to have your hands full with these two Uncle Rob." She moved out of the way as she noticed Barron interrupting Warren's dance with Helen. She saw Warren look at her and she smiled.

He walked over to her took her hands and led her to the middle of the dance floor. "And look at this folks!" Ethan called, "The bride and groom have found each other on the dance floor and are sharing their first dance of the evening!"

Warren glared at him but his attention was quickly brought back to the woman in his arms. "Hi."

"Hi." She smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

"I dunno…I think I'm worried that I'm going to wake up and this will all be a dream and next thing I know I'll be sleeping on the couch the night before my graduation, and you coming back will have all been a lie." He pinched her subtly on the arm and she frowned, "What was that for?"

"Did it hurt?"

"Yes."

"Then this isn't a dream." He grinned and touched her face, "Though I can understand where you're coming from, the fact that you said yes to marrying me of all people is very dream worthy, though even my imagination isn't even capable of creating something like that." He leaned in to kiss her.

But his kiss was avoided when she spoke, "I have something to tell you."

"What's on your mind? Is something wrong?" His voice suddenly went from adoring to worried.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just that…" There was a tug on her dress and she looked at Munchie who was waiting expectantly. "What's wrong Munchie? No wait don't tell me…I want to see if I can read your mind." She smiled, "What you're thinking of…it's white." Munchie nodded, "It has four layers with white chocolate frosting and it's calling 'Cut me…cut me!' Right?"

Munchie grinned and nodded, "Mother wants pictures, and I want cake."

Serenity tapped her chin, in thought then looked at Warren who shrugged. "Alright, go tell Ethan and Evelynn that we want to cut the cake."

Munchie ran off and Warren looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You really want a piece of that cake don't you?"

"It has four layers and it's covered in white chocolate frosting, what part of that doesn't sound delicious?" She grinned as her sweet tooth kicked in.

"Everybody, due to a request by Mary-Lynette the bride and groom will now be cutting the cake." Eve spoke through her microphone. "Hey Serenity, save us a couple of pieces kay?"

"Will do." Serenity told her as she and Warren walked towards the cake.

She held the knife in her hand while his hand held hers and his other arm was around her shoulder, looking very picturesque. She looked at the cake and he whispered in her ear, "What's wrong?"

"It's a really pretty cake I don't want to cut it." He chuckled and then as she cringed the two cut the cake.

The cake was passed around but no one took a bite until Warren cut a piece of his cake off and fed it to Serenity and she fed him the first bite of hers. As she enjoyed the sweetness of it, he cringed from the sweetness of it. "You don't like it?" She asked.

"Let's just say this is the last time I'm letting you pick out dessert. Plus aren't wedding cakes supposed to be sweet?" He grinned and took another bite of her cake.

Her jaw dropped, "Hey eat your own cake!"

Helen watched as Barron gulped down his third glass of champagne as he ate his cake, she had forgotten that he hated sweets. "If you're having that hard of a time eating it then I'll finish it for you."

He looked at her, "But it's our son's wedding cake." He watched as Steve Stronghold walked by, "Wait a minute, I've got a better idea." He grinned, a grin she hadn't seen since high school despite the fact that it still made her heart flutter she knew he only grinned like that when he was planning something.

"What are you thinking?" She asked as she watched as he loaded his fork with cake and bent it back enough so that when he let go of the prongs, the fork snapped up and the piece of cake went flying, it landed directly on Steve's cheek. Her hands covered her mouth and she wasn't sure whether to let out a disapproving noise or to laugh.

Josie watched as Steve turned to look at Barron who simply waved. She smiled then started laughing, causing Helen to break out in the same laughter. "Oh really?" Steve asked as he loaded his fork with a larger piece of cake.

"Steve?" Josie asked. She watched as the cake went flying across the room and hit Barron square in the face.

"What's this?" Ethan asked over the microphone. "The fathers of the groom and best man seem to be throwing cake at each other. Is this some sort of new challenge for their rivalry or something else?"

Barron wiped the off of his eyes, nose and mouth. He then grabbed a handful of cake, threw it at Steve but it missed and accidentally hit Will in the side of the head. Layla looked at Will with wide eyes and she was trying not to laugh, "Oh my! Will are you alright?"

"I'm fine." There was a glint in his eyes that made her worry. He picked up a chunk of cake and threw it in the direction of Barron but he accidentally hit Warren. "Oh shit…sorry Warren."

"Oh my! What's this? Did the best man just throw cake at the groom?" Evelynn asked.

"I do believe so." Ethan told her. "What's this? Is Warren actually planning to join in the on action?" They watched as Warren picked up a small section of cake and threw it back at Will. "Well Eve, I do believe this has turned into a food fight."

Zach started paying attention to what was going on at the other side of the room the moment Ethan said food fight. He looked at Magenta who grinned. "FOOD FIGHT!" They both called out.

Serenity looked at the chaos around her as cake was being hurled in every direction but then noticed that everyone seemed to be having fun so she shrugged and took her cake then started to leave. 'They'll come and find me when their done…for now I'm going to go eat my cake…I think there's a gazebo outside.'

A good twenty minutes passed before things finally started to settle down enough for Warren to notice that Serenity was missing from the fray. He began heading for the door, quickly telling Will to keep things going as long as possible before leaving. He headed out to back door where he knew, somehow, Serenity was. "Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"Saving my dress from cake damage." She looked back at him, as he walked towards her.

He sat down beside her but didn't embrace her because his tux covered in icing. "We're going to have a hard time explaining this to the dry cleaner."

"My dress is still cake free." She smiled. "Did you have fun?"

"Well one thing I know for sure is that I'm not going to be able to forget this wedding reception."

She looked at him with shock, "I hope not!"

He smiled, "I won't." He leaned in to kiss her and this time she let him but she quickly pulled away and leaned her head over the nearest garbage can as everything she had eaten that day came back up with a vengeance. "Serenity!" He ran over to her, pulled back her veil and rubbed her back. "Are you alright?" He asked as the heaving stopped.

She nodded, "It's just morning sickness, nothing to…worry a…bout…" She stiffened as she realized what she just told him.

"Wait did you just say morning sickness?" He asked her as another round hit her.

When it was done he helped her sit down, "Yes, morning sickness." She cringed as it sank in. "Warren…I'm pregnant…"

"How long?"

She shrank back against the wooden pillar that held up the gazebo, "Two months."

He stood up while pulling her up with him, he looked into her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I got the test results back on Thursday." She told him.

"Then that means that I'm…that we're…" He picked her up and spun her around.

"Should I assume this means you're not mad?" She asked as he put her down.

"Mad? Why would I be mad? I'm going to be a father! And you're going to be the mother of that child! And we're going to be parents! Together! I'm…I'm…I can't even think of a word to describe this feeling I have."

"Elated? Ecstatic?" She asked as he pulled her into a hug. "Well…now that I'm covered in cake…let's get back to the celebrating." She pulled away, took his hand and led him back down to the reception. They looked at the damage and saw most, if not all, of the guests sitting down gasping. "Did you guys have fun?" She asked as she surveyed the damage.

"Best wedding ever!" Munchie told them.

That's when they all noticed Steve approaching Barron, Steve reached out and he helped Barron up. "Truce?" Steve asked.

Barron looked around and the one thing that made him nod was the look on Helen's face. "Truce."

"And it seems that a forty year old feud is finally over." Ethan said, still cleaner than most of the guests, though their booth was covered in cake.

"That's not the only good news," Warren looked at Serenity who nodded. "Serenity's pregnant! We're going to be parents!" The only people who gasped were those who weren't in the wedding party or their family. "Okay…am I the last person to find out?"

Will patted him on the back, "Sorry, I wanted to tell you but Layla made me promise not to."

"And how did everyone else find out?"

"Magenta and I found out while dress shopping." Layla told him.

"I just knew." Jason told him as he walked by.

"She came to me for advice." Helen told him.

"She told us." Lynda said while wiping the remaining cake off of Munchies face.

"We have gossipy girlfriends." Zach told him as he came to stand by him and Will.

"I took her to the doctors." Mia told him as she took another piece of cake, eating it this time.

Ethan spoke without the microphone, "We pay attention to the gossip going on between our friends."

"So it was just me…" He looked at Serenity as she gulped down another glass of water.

"You didn't need anything else to worry about." She told him as Barron walked up to her and pulled her to the side.

"So I'm going to be a grandfather?" He asked.

"Yes." She smiled.

"And there's a chance I can see this child?"

"Yes, we always want new heroes."

"What do I have to do?"

"I'll bring the papers over tomorrow and have them processed by the end of Monday."

"On one condition."

"And what's that?"

"I get to live with Helen again."

She grinned, "Oh good then I don't have to change the contract."

He hugged her, "Thank you. Thank you."

She heard a different voice one that was familiar but wasn't at the same time, _"__Thank you.__"_The voice made tears spill from her eyes and she just nodded. 'You're welcome, mom.'

The End!

(A/N: Wow these last three chapters were long...and now it's over ='( I'll miss it. A special thanks to whoever read, story alerted, favourited, reviewed, and will read in the future. One more thing: WOO Barron Battle for the win~!)


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